A young Jewish man, who also holds a US citizenship, was arrested in southern Israel yesterday on suspicion of making dozens of hoax bomb threats against Jewish community centers in the United States and several other countries. Police said, the 19-year-old suspect was arrested following a joint investigation with American and Europeans security agencies.
“As part of an ongoing investigation with Israeli national police and the FBI this morning the Israeli police arrested a 19 year old suspect from the southern part of Israel we believe he is the main suspect behind numerous threats that were made in New Zealand, Australia and in the United States against Jewish communities, Jewish buildings and other community centers the suspect himself we also know was behind threats that were made to Delta Airlines at the JFK airport in the United States in February 2015. We also confirmed the suspect has an American passport as well as an Israeli passport and this afternoon he appeared before the Rishon Lezion court and he is being held under arrest until the 30th of the 3rd as part of the ongoing investigation,” said Micky Rosenfeld, Israeli Police Spokesman.
The suspect, who according to police, was responsible for several bomb threats in the past year, as well as one that was directed against a flight to Israel in January 2015. At a court hearing in the Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, the suspect’s defense attorney claimed that a growth in the teenager’s head was the cause of behavioral problems, a ‘serious medical condition’ she said prevented her client from getting drafted to the IDF at the age of 18, as well as prevented him from attending high-school.
“This is a young person, that because of his very very serious medical condition, did not serve in the army, did not go to high school and did not go to elementary school. So, that is why the medical condition can actually affect the investigation. And this is one of the things the judge told the police to check, to talk to his doctors, to get more documents and to investigate him according to his medical situation,” Galit Bash, Suspect’s Defense Attorney.
The arrest came after US federal authorities have been investigating a surge of threats against Jewish organizations, including more than 100 bomb threats in separate waves, over the past three months, against Jewish community centers in dozens of states.