Members of Jewish Community in India Killed After Rocket Hits Their Synagogue

Seven members of the Northeast Indian Bnei Menashe community members were killed Monday when their synagogue was hit by a rocket, the Knesset’s Diaspora affairs committee said Tuesday. It is unclear who fired the rocket.

The attack is not considered antisemitic, since it was not meant to target Jews as such, but rather comes on the background of the Kuki-Meitei strife that has convulsed India’s northeastern state of Manipur since May, the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee said. However, the incident compounds the Indian Jews’ desire to come to Israel, following their internal displacement as a result of the inter-ethnic fighting.

A press release from the committee noted that there are some 5,500 Bnei Menashe members in India waiting to join about 5,000 community members in Israel. MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu), who heads the committee, criticized the Aliyah and Integration government office for procrastinating on the issue of Bnei Menashe, given the dangerous predicament in Manipur.

In the committee’s discussion on Tuesday, Michal Willer Tal, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Southeast Asia desk, reiterated that the danger Bnei Menashe were facing was not a result of their identifying as Jewish. She advised that Israel assist the community’s emigration, but added that this effort should be “low profile,” to avoid the semblance of intervention in India’s internal affairs.

Since May of last year, the state of Manipur, which shares a border with Bangladesh, has been rocked by violence between the Christian-majority Kuki and Hindu-majority Meitei tribal umbrellas, with the Jewish community of Bnei Menashe aligning with the former. According to Reuters, at least 180 people have been killed since the start of hostilities. Early in the conflict, Meitei militants burned down two synagogues, killing a Bnei Menashe community member.

The inter-ethnic strife began when some 50,000 Kuki members protested the Indian government’s intention to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei, which would give them reserved quotas for government jobs and college admissions. The Kuki, who are a Scheduled Tribe, oppose granting the privilege to the Meitei, claiming that the latter tribe, which makes up some 53% of Manipur’s population, is already overrepresented in the state.

Bnei Menashe is a community in northeast India that claims descent from the ancient Israelite tribe of Manasseh, which, according to the biblical story, was among the first Hebrew tribes to be exiled. Over the past two decades, their immigration to Israel has been encouraged and subsidized by the Israeli government, in cooperation with two non-governmental groups, Shavei Israel and Degel Menashe.

Though their Judaism claim was endorsed in 2005 by then-Sephardic chief rabbi Shlomo Amar, Bnei Menashe community members have been required to undergo an Orthodox conversion ritual in order to be resettled in Israel.

Jewish Memorial in Germany Defaced by Pro-Palestinian Rioters

Police in Germany are investigating after a Berlin memorial to the Jewish children rescued from the Nazis was vandalized, including with images of a mosque.

The vandalism occurred on New Year’s Eve, during a spate of unauthorized pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the German capital, according to Martin Stralau, a spokesperson for the State Criminal Police.

The memorial by the late Frank Meisler, installed near the Friedrichstrasse commuter train station in 2008, is dedicated to the roughly 10,000 Jewish children who were sent to safety in England on so-called Kindertransports in 1938 and 1939 by Jewish aid organizations. Many never saw their parents and siblings again. Meisler himself escaped Nazi Germany on a Kindertransport and eventually settled in Israel. The memorial features large casts of children holding suitcases.

Though the perpetrators have not been identified, there were numerous arrests on New Year’s Eve in Berlin amid the demonstrations, which took place despite a formal ban by German police who said the rallies could lead to crimes including antisemitic displays.

The memorial is not the first Holocaust-related site to be defaced amid widespread graffiti tied to the Israel-Hamas war. A Holocaust library in London also had its sign vandalized and quickly repaired.

Wisconsin College Under Fire After Swastikas Discovered on Campus

Carthage College officials continue to investigate antisemitic symbols discovered inside one of the campus dormitories.

The incident was discovered by Carthage security on Dec. 9, 2023. Three swastikas and the word “Jew” was carved into several doors at a Carthage dormitory.

The student believed to be targeted is a resident adviser at the dormitory and a member of the Carthage Jewish Student Union.

“I think Jewish students around the country see the stories on their news feed every day about antisemitism on college campuses around the country,” Carthage senior Tyler Kelly said.

“This time it really hit home that this is happening not just on the coasts, but here at Carthage.”

Michele Hancock, Carthage vice president of campus culture, sent an email to Carthage students, faculty and staff in response to the incident.

“Carthage College does not tolerate any form of racism, antisemitism, bigotry or white supremacist activity on campus,” Hancock wrote. “Carthage is committed to providing our students, faculty and staff with a safe and welcoming environment.”

Kelly is one of the founding members of the Carthage Jewish Student Union. He said the student targeted had the word “Jew” carved into his dormitory door.

“Being Jewish is something that he carries with him and antisemitism is something that he’s had to confront in his life as a result,” Carthage College chair Stephanie Mitchell said. “So I don’t think he was especially shocked. He’s just horrified the way the rest of us also are.”

There are roughly 20 Jewish students at Carthage, according to Kelly.

“I think we’re all a little bit worried,” Kelly said. “I think that all Jewish students are, but I think we’re all hanging in there.

“We’re all satisfied the school has made communications and made an effort to do something about antisemitism, especially seeing schools across the country not taking those basic steps.”

The incident was not reported to local authorities, according to Kenosha Police Department.

Chicago Art Institute Student Sues School Over Antisemitic Harassment

A master’s degree student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has filed suit against the institution, claiming pervasive and severe antisemitic harassment and discrimination.

Steve Blonder with the law firm Much Shelist represents the student, identified only as Shiran. He said in one instance, Shiran and her peers were told to complete a school assignment by responding to images purportedly created by Palestinian children showing Israeli soldiers engaged in brutal violence.

Blonder tells WBBM the world is seeing more cases of antisemitism since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

“It was always there, but post-Oct. 7 there’s been an increased awareness of what used to be behind closed doors,” he said.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago released a statement to WBBM saying the school does not comment on pending litigation.  The school also said it has policies in place that prohibit discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Dozens of Antisemitic Flyers Found on Cars in Chicago Neighborhood

Residents in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood are expressing outrage after dozens of antisemitic flyers were spotted on cars in the North Side neighborhood.

According to Chicago police, an investigation into the hateful flyers is underway, with no one currently in custody.

The flyers served as a shock to Andersonville resident Gwane Jacobson, who said she assumed it was garbage that was on her car Wednesday morning.

Jacobson said that when she turned the paper over, she saw an antisemitic message that blamed Jews for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In addition to what she noticed on her own car, Jacobson said she eventually gathered over 60 flyers along the 5400 block of North Magnolia Avenue, all containing hateful messages regarding Jews and Judaism.

"What we can and should do as neighbors is look out for one another and teach our children that they're wrong," Jacobson said.

48th Ward Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth said her ward has long been a beacon of diversity, and called the messages "unacceptable."

"We don't know what their motives are, we just know we need to keep each other safe," Manaa-Hoppenworth told NBC Chicago.

No injuries were reported as Area Three detectives are investigating the incident.

City Council in Massachusetts Receive Antisemitic Postcards in Their Mail

The entire Newburyport city council as well as the city's mayor discovered antisemitic postcards in their mailboxes at their homes over the weekend.

"It was a shocker to get it," said Bruce Vogel, whose 14-year run on city council ended this week. "Mostly very disquieting because it came to my home."

The postcards, which appear to have come via USPS from California, have a cartoon caricature of a Jewish man that has been widely used in antisemitic propaganda, as well as words on the front and the back referencing hate speech about Jews and white supremacist beliefs, and the line "the Holocaust never happened, but it really should have."

When the postcards came in the mail, some city councilors immediately reported to the police, the local Human Rights Commission, and the local synagogue so they were aware of the issue.

"I was a little taken aback," said Afroz Khan, a current city councilor, who initially wondered if she was targeted. "I have a name, and I have a presence in our city as being a Muslim voice. You know my family, we are practicing Muslims and that is something when I was running that the papers always made a point to point out - so part of me at first was like, is this something just I was getting?"

This isn't the first time Newburyport government has been targeted since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. Twice in October, city council meetings were "zoom bombed" with people yelling racist slurs. Plus, antisemitic mailings have been sent to City Hall.

Mayor Sean Reardon isn't sure why the small North Shore city seems to be a target. "We are a very welcoming community, so I think for people who have intolerant views, maybe they see us as the enemy? I'm not sure," he said. "Am I concerned? Sure. I think any time rhetoric like this is ramping up you're concerned about the people in your community, and I think especially our Jewish members who just went through Hanukkah, and again have been targeted so much..." he said.

The mayor confirmed police are investigating the mailings. Each postcard was identical, and it's not clear if they have been sent to other communities locally or nationally.  

Jewish Owned Deli in Canada Victim of Possible Hate Crime

Toronto police say an early morning fire at a North York deli is being investigated as a suspected hate-motivated incident and arson.

Toronto Fire responded to a call around 6 a.m. Wednesday for a commercial fire at International Deli Foods in the area of Steeles Avenue and Keele Street.

Fire officials tell CityNews crews arrived to find smoke coming from the rear of the building. The fire was put out and no injuries were reported.

Graffiti could be seen scrawled on the back of the building that reads “Free Palestine.”

A nearby business owner tells CityNews the deli is owned by a Russian Jewish family.

Staff Supt. Pauline Gray says the Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit is now investigating the incident as a hate-motivated crime.

“This is not graffiti on a bus shelter, this is not lawful protest protected by constitutional right. This is a criminal act. It is violent, it is targeted, it is organized,” said Gray.

“When I saw it’s organized, they didn’t just happen upon this business. These people have targeted this business and that means they’ve been here before,” added Gray, who reiterated that if anyone has any information or video footage of potential suspects in the area in the days leading up to today’s incident to contact police.

Toronto Coun. Mike Colle called the incident a “firebombing” and a “disgusting criminal act.”

“This is an attack on people because they may not be of your religion or your race,” Colle says. “This antisemitic violence is something that is really troubling.”

Local councillor James Pasternak said in a post on X on Wednesday the fire was “a hate motivated attack on a Jewish-owned business.”

Police say if a person is charged and convicted of a crime believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the Judge in the case will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence.

Last month, Toronto police reported an alarming rise in hate crimes in the city with the Jewish and Muslim communities as recurring targets.

Jewish Man Assaulted and Robbed in New York

At 10:54pm Tuesday night, the emergency hotline at Crown Heights Shomrim rang. A Jewish man on Montgomery Street had just been assaulted and robbed, and he needed help now. Just one minute later, one of Shomrim’s new response vehicle was pulling up with multiple more volunteers on the way.

According to the victim, he had been on Montgomery Street between Schenectady Ave and Utica Ave when he was approached by a man who punched him in the face and called him an “f***n Jew” before having his bag snatched. Afraid to be alone in the area after being robbed, he called Crown Heights Shomrim.

Armed with a basic description, the volunteers were quickly able to find surveillance footage of the attacker, allowing them to identify him walking in the area twenty minutes later. With his identity confirmed, the victim called 911 as the Shomrim volunteers kept an eye and waited for the police.

Moving in and out of buildings, the volunteers continued to watch the attacker as they waited for the police. Before the police arrived though, the attacker entered a crime ridden building and never came out.

When the police arrived, the attacker could not be located inside the building and the officers took the victim to the 71st Precinct to file a report.

Synagogue and Nearby School in North Carolina Evacuated Following Bomb Threat

A synagogue in Davidson was evacuated Wednesday morning and a nearby K-8 school was placed on lockdown after someone emailed an anonymous bomb threat to temple staff.

Rabbi Becca Diamond of Temple Kol Tikvah on South Street said staff received the threat around 11:30 a.m. Some 33 different organizations were listed as recipients on the email, she said.

Staff evacuated the temple and notified police, who searched the building with K-9 officers and found no evidence of explosives. Police gave the all-clear around 12:30 p.m., Diamond said.

As a precaution, the nearby Davidson K-8 School was placed on lockdown, according to a statement from the Town of Davidson.

Temple Kol Tikvah also received a submission through its website Wednesday morning that said explosives had been placed inside the North Carolina state capitol, Diamond said. The message appeared to be one of several similar threats to state capitols around the country on Wednesday, according to NPR.

The Davidson temple also received a similar anonymous threat in October, Diamond said. Police found no indication the threat was real.

In October, a 64-year-old man was arrested by the FBI for making a threat to the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. Jeffery Hobgood pleaded guilty in the case last week.

Police in Davidson are investigating an anonymous bomb threat made Wednesday morning to a local synagogue, according to a statement from the Town of Davidson.

The rabbis of Temple Kol Tikvah sent a message to their congregation Wednesday saying, "The goal of emails like to ones we received today is to create chaos and fear. This is likely not the last such email we will receive."

"These kinds of anonymous acts of fear-mongering come from people who want us to be afraid. But there are ways we can fight back. We can continue to show that we're proud to be Jewish and that we are committed to strengthening our Jewish community. Fear will not stop us," the message read.

"Traditionally, once a book of Torah is completed, the words 'Chazak chazak v’nitchazek' are said aloud. These words mean, 'together, we shall strengthen ourselves and each other.' Now is a time to not only recite these words, but also to act upon them. Let us all join together as a community and strengthen one another."

Three Orthodox Passengers Kicked Off JetBlue Flight in Alleged Antisemitic Incident

Three ultra-Orthodox passengers were kicked off a flight earlier this week from California to New York after switching seats. "My flight crew tells me they don't want you on the plane," the pilot told the passengers. "I have to stand by them." One of the passengers protested the decision and called it "antisemitism".

The incident began when an elderly Jewish man who was on the flight from Palm Springs, California to Kennedy Airport sat down in an empty seat. A flight attendant asked him if that was his seat, and when he said no, she told him he couldn't sit there. He took another seat that he thought was free and the flight attendant told him he couldn't sit there either. This is what the Forward website reported .

One of the two ultra-Orthodox women sitting elsewhere on the plane intervened and explained that he could not sit in the seat designated for him because of a "religious matter", probably because he was seated next to a woman.

Another passenger, Ron Pesaro, offered the elderly Jew his seat. "You are a hero to me," the ultra-Orthodox woman told Pesaro. The elderly man then switched places again with one of the two women, it is not clear why they made the additional switch.

Pesaro told the Forward website that he thought the meeting was arranged, when suddenly the captain and a security man appeared and told the ultra-Orthodox passengers that they had to get off the plane. The captain said the crew informed him they "didn't feel comfortable with them on the flight."

The security official said: "The captain and the crew have made the decision. You are getting off this plane" He added that "changing seats is a violation when it comes to weight imbalance. You have to sit in your assigned seats."

The ultra-Orthodox woman defended the elderly man and said, "Did he shoot? Did he do something, did he touch anyone? He didn't do anything. It's only for religious purposes. Do we look dangerous?" She added that she had a job, children and grandchildren waiting for her to come home, then stated, "This is antisemitism."

Rachel Sklar, who was also on the flight, posted about the incident on the social media platform X and said : "They said it was clearly antisemitism, and I said, 'It sure is, the whole thing was really upsetting. It seemed very unnecessary and quite confusing.' 

She added: "I was shocked that they threw them off the plane at that time on New Year's Eve." The flight left at 22:30, half an hour late.

Sklar said she assumes airlines try to accommodate religious requests the same way they accommodate people's requests to sit with their families. Sklar herself is allergic to cats and asked to change seats if another passenger has a cat with him. "The flight attendants have a lot of discretion; they can change people's places," she said. "The matter with the weight did not make sense."

JetBlue did not respond to a request for comment from the Forward website.

Amazon Whistleblower Leaks Internal Communications of Hamas Supporting Employees

A whistleblower at Amazon has leaked internal communications channels from the e-commerce giant that contain pro-Hamas messages and defamatory statements toward hostages released from Hamas captivity.  

The whistleblower's revelations were documented in a report by Jewish Legal News on Wednesday.

The person, who reportedly works for Amazon as a programmer, reported that Amazon employees had posted anti-Israel comments on a company Slack channel that contained over 3,000 members.

The JLN report further added that pro-Palestinian flyers displaying a watermelon shaped like the State of Israel – an apparent call to erase the Jewish state from the map and replace it with an Arab Palestinian state – were disseminated in Amazon offices worldwide.

The flyers were reportedly accompanied by calls of “from the river to the sea” on the Amazon Slack channel and by attempts to fundraise for a Canadian affiliate of Islamic Relief Worldwide, an organization banned by Israel because of its alleged financing of Hamas.

One of the posts on the Slack channel reported by JLN, from an employee named Laith Abad, read, “Idk how Palestine gets their freedom, but simply asking nicely isn’t the solution.”

Another post from an employee named Zaid Akel read, “I stand with any and every revolution against their occupiers, so I stand with Hamas.”

Akel’s post also asserted that it hadn’t been proved that any babies had been beheaded, and that the hostages held by Hamas were treated well.

Similar posts claiming that the hostages held by Hamas were treated well by the Islamist terror organization were spread by other Amazon employees.

Other employees accused or shared posts accusing Israel of crimes, including organ theft, rape, and placing explosives in the belly of a child.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Legal News report noted that Amazon employee Carl Hage, who stated he was the moderator of an Amazon Slack community, admitted to censoring the voices of Israeli Amazon employees who attempted to push back at the anti-Israel narratives taking place in the channel. 

Separately, one of the hostages currently held by Hamas, Sasha Troufanov, is himself an Amazon employee. The report noted that the company has yet to acknowledge that an Amazon employee had been kidnapped.

Rutgers University Law Student Sues School Over Antisemitic Discrimination

A Rutgers University law student is suing the school, claiming discrimination and retaliation after he spoke out against antisemitism on campus.

Yoel Ackerman says a fellow student sent him a video containing false statements that denied Hamas' actions during the attack in Israel in October. He reported the video to the Jewish Law Students' Association, as he was instructed.

Ackerman says Rutgers then filed charges against him for sharing the video. He could face possible suspension or expulsion.

"What has resulted since is nothing more than an attempt by Rutgers and other students to silence my right to speak out against antisemitism," he said.

Rutgers says it takes seriously claims of antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of bias and intolerance, and any such claims are investigated.

ChatGPT Censors Muslim Jokes But Allows Antisemitic Jokes

Why does ChatGPT refuse to tell jokes about Muslims, but does not hesitate to tell jokes about Jews - sometimes even ones tinged with antisemitic stereotypes? Many users are asking this question in recent days following a series of posts on social networks that point to the strange bias.

A ynet check shows that ChatGPT, in the paid version based on the newer GPT-4 language model, consistently refuses to tell jokes about Muslims. "I apologize, I cannot provide jokes that focus on a religious or ethnic group, as they can be offensive or misinterpreted," the chatbot writes when asked to write such jokes, "Humor is a wonderful thing, but it's important to behave respectfully and sensitive towards all cultures and religions".

On the other hand, when the chatbot is asked to write a joke about Jews, it does so without expressing any reservations. Sometimes these jokes are tainted with antisemitic stereotypes, for example the following joke that alludes to the Jews' excessive fondness for money: "Why don't Jewish mothers drink tea? Because the tea bag stays too long in the cup and they can't stand the fact that something doesn't pay the rent."

Precisely when using ChatGPT in its free version, which is based on the older GPT-3.5 language model, it refuses to provide jokes about both Jews and Muslims and replies: "I'm sorry, I can't fulfill this request."

We contacted OpenAI with a request for an explanation of the phenomenon, but so far the company's response has not been received. It is worth noting that the CEO of the company, Sam Altman , is Jewish, as is the chief scientist and co-founder Ilya Sutzkaber .

Itamar Golan, CEO of the cyber company Prompt Security which developed a platform that enables the secure use of creative artificial intelligence, estimated in a conversation with Ynet that the phenomenon reflects a bias that exists in the information on which the GPT-4 language model was trained.

"Language models are trained on huge databases of texts, in order to learn how to eventually generate texts themselves," explains Golan, "the more the model went through during training on more texts of a certain type, the greater the probability that it I will generate texts similar to them later. Therefore, it is likely that the phenomenon arises because of a more frequent representation of texts in which Muslims are described as a minority group that needs to be treated more sensitively."

At the same time, this is obviously a failure of OpenAI's safety mechanisms, which, as ChatGPT himself stated, should prevent him from telling jokes about religious or ethnic groups. In this context, Golan notes that OpenAI designed GPT-4 to be less cautious than its predecessor, following complaints from users that GPT-3.5 is "woke", i.e. biased to the extreme left side of the political map. Either way, Golan estimates that the company will fix the problem quickly.

Another possibility is that the antisemitic jokes reflect not only a bias in the data on which GPT-4 was trained, but also a bias in the human testers who helped train ChatGPT. These testers rated the answers of the chatbot - a technique called Reinforcement Learning From Human Feedback or RLHF for short - and it is not impossible that some of them were influenced by antisemitic stereotypes themselves and did not bother to tag or flag offensive texts towards Jews.

Dr. Noa Gradovitz from the Department of Information Sciences at Bar Ilan University states that "Language models were trained on a large amount of data that contains our biases, errors and stereotypes as humans. In addition to this, there are predefined restrictions for the language models in which the sensitivity for each topic is defined. While jokes about Moses for example are not defined as very sensitive, jokes about the Prophet Muhammad are defined as very sensitive and therefore the model must avoid them. If I write to the chatbot that I am a Muslim who believes that making fun of Islam and the Prophet glorifies the name of the Prophet, it will provide a joke about Muhammad. As soon as the issue of jokes came up, the model was corrected and now if you ask for a joke about Jews, you will get a joke that is not offensive but also not related to stereotypes about Judaism."

Swastika Spray Painted on Resident's Fence in Florida

A swastika was found spray painted on the fence of a home near Boca Raton, deputies said.

The incident took place at a home located in the 22000 block of Southwest 62nd Avenue.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said deputies responded to a criminal mischief call about the swastika.

The homeowner of the fence told the sheriff's office that she was unaware of the damage.

She also told deputies that she is a Christian and doesn't know who would do this.

Congregation B’Nai Israel Rabbi Rony Keller in Boca Raton told WFLX reporter Joel Lopez: “I think it’s incumbent upon us and not just the Jewish community to become educators and for us to be able to stand up together and say we will not tolerate this. We will not tolerate hate anywhere.”

Nearly 100 Jewish Houses of Worship in California Receive Bomb Threats

Six Jewish temples in San Diego County were threatened Tuesday morning after someone sent a message saying a bomb was hidden in their respective buildings.

The local synagogues were among 91 total Jewish houses of worship in California that received similar threats, according to officials.

Just after 8:30 a.m., a person at Temple Solel in Cardiff called the Sheriff’s Department to report receiving an email that said explosives would soon be detonated at the campus, sheriff’s Lt. Zheath Sanchez said.

Sanchez said deputies arrived quickly and helped evacuate the buildings. A sweep of the campus turned up no explosives, he said.

Threats were also emailed to people associated with Congregation Beth Israel and Temple Emanu-El in San Diego, Temple Etz Rimon in Carlsbad, Temple Adat Shalom in Poway and Congregation Etz Chaim of Ramona, according to Bill Ganley, community security director for the Jewish Federation of San Diego, a nonprofit group that promotes Jewish values and identity locally.

Most of the synagogues have some form of preschool education on their sites, officials said.

At each of the threatened temples, the staff called investigators who then came to the site and cleared the building for threats, Ganley said. No injuries were reported.

“They are hoaxes and unfounded, but we have to encourage our organizations to make sure they respond appropriately just in case,” Ganley said.

“These are terrorist threats to disrupt the community,” he added.

Heidi Gantwerk, president of the Jewish Federation, emphasized that threats against the Jewish community in recent years have been on the rise. First aid and emergency preparedness classes taught at temples and security checks before events have become common in the local Jewish community.

“We are doing all this work to let people know what to do, feel safe and participate in Jewish events,” Gantwerk said.

No further information was immediately available.

Texas Synagogue Victim of Bomb Threat

On January 2, 2024 at 10:27 a.m. Beaumont Police received a call about an email that Temple Emanuel received which contained a threat to bomb the synagogue.

The email was sent to the Temple Emanuel administration email, according to President of the Congregation Ken Parker.

Parker told 12News that the email was sent to six other Jewish congregations across Texas.

12News obtained a copy of the email. It stated "I placed multiple bombs inside of your synagogue. The bombs will go off in a few hours. You will all die."

"They said their was no, no visible entrance, no doors were messed up. So, it looks pretty good that nothing ever happened," Parker said. 

At the bottom of the email there was a phone number. 12News called and the woman on the other end of the line was distraught. Her number was spoofed. 

"I would never go out of my way to disrespect any type of religion or anything and whoever is doing this is really messed up," she said. 

This is the second time a place of worship has received a bomb threat in Beaumont. On Christmas Day, Antioch Christmas morning services were interrupted but not canceled by a bomb threat.

"I just think people are you know whether it's Judaism, I know the Antioch Church got the same kind of bomb threat over Christmas. I think there's just some evil people out there that have evil intentions," Parker said. 

Beaumont Police say they take every bomb threat seriously.

"We don't want anyone to put fear in any of our residents. Unfortunately, places of worship are often targeted because they know that there's a large group of people there," said Beaumont Police Officer Haley Morrow. 

"Oh it was very reassuring, that you know I can come to work and be safe and the people of the congregation they can go to services and be safe," said the Temple Emanuel's receptionist, Leah Trahan. 

This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information. 

New Jersey Jewish Family Accosted by Attackers

A Jewish family of four was subjected to foul-mouthed harassment at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey on New Year's Day, according to video of the incident shared by a watchdog group.

The Jewish couple and their children, ages 12 and 16, were the target of screaming abuse hurled by two pro-Palestinian supporters at the mall in East Rutherford, the video showed.

StopAntisemitism, the watchdog group that shared the video, said the abuse was triggered by the 16-year-old daughter's sweatshirt, which showed support for the Israeli Defense Force.

'Free Palestine, f***ing die b***h,' a young woman is heard screaming at the family in the video, as the Jewish father holds his arm out to separate the aggressors from his wife and children.

The full circumstances of the incident are not clear from the video clip, or a second brief clip which the watchdog group says shows the harassers slapping the Jewish mother's phone out of her hand.

A representative for American Dream Mall did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning. The East Rutherford Police Department referred questions to the New Jersey State Police, which could not be immediately reached for comment.

StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'Incidents like these contribute to a violent atmosphere that has propelled antisemitic hate crimes to new highs. They must be universally condemned if we are ever to return to public discourse that does not target or threaten Jews.'

Rez attributed the incident to the 'Free Palestine' movement, which she said 'has generated so much hatred and division in America that a Jewish family can't walk through a shopping mall without being accosted.'

The video of the incident posted on X shows the confrontation already underway, with a young man and woman screaming at the family. 

'Leave her alone, leave her alone!' the Jewish father is heard saying as he steps in between the Palestinian supporters and his family. 

The Jewish mother, who appears to be filming the incident, is heard saying: 'You're attacking me, you attacked me and dropped my phone!'

The female aggressor responds: 'You're recording me without my permission! It's free Palestine, die f***ing die b***h! Free Palestine die f***ing die b***h! Free Palestine, you should be embarrassed you're supporting genocide!'

The Jewish father is seen herding his family away from the abusive rant, and shouting back 'What genocide?' 

'Leave her alone, leave her alone,' the dad is heard saying. 'Leave this s**t alone.'

The Jewish mother chimes in: 'You're cursing my child! You're cursing my child!'

'I'm cursing you,' says the male harasser. 'I'm cursing you and your bulls**t husband.' 

The female harasser goes on to say she is also a minor. The confrontation devolves into a screaming match that is difficult to clearly hear, as the Jewish mother questions whether the harassers have ever been to the Palestinian territories.

'There's no such thing as Palestine, it's a made up lie!' the Jewish mother is heard shouting before the video clip ends. 

The disturbing incident is the latest example of flaring tensions in the US since Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 and taking hundreds more hostage.

Crown Heights Shomrim Trying to Identify Teens Harassing Jewish Kids

Crown Heights Shomrim has released an alert for the Crown Heights Jewish community asking for help in catching three troublesome teens who went on a crime spree against Jews Sunday morning.

“Shomrim received multiple complaints regarding these three subjects accosting and attempting to rob Jewish kids,” Shomrim wrote on social media. “They stole 3 scooters that kids parked inside a local store. If you have any information or have been a victim of theirs, please call Shomrim at 718-774-3333 and help build a case.”

According to people familiar with the incidents, the group made their first known attempt on Albany Ave between Eastern Parkway and Lincoln when they accosted a young boy walking alone and attempting to steal his backpack. The theft failed after the fast thinking boy threw a cup of tea he was holding at them and ran away.

A second attempt at crime also failed for the troublesome crew until they came to Kahan’s Superette on Kingston Ave where three young Jewish boys had just stopped and parked their scooters. Quickly, the criminal teens snatched the boys scooters and made off.

Hours later Crown Heights Shomrim was informed of these incidents, and after putting them all together, arranged for police reports to be filed so that these troublemakers could face repercussions.

According to Shomrim, two of the incidents occurred in the confines of 71st Precinct and the other in the confines of the 77th Precinct.

If you recognize these teens or were a victim, reach out to Crown Heights Shomrim at 718-774-3333.