Jewish centers in L.A. remain on alert after individual identified in threats to New Jersey synagogues in June
By David Walsh
9 December 2012
In late June, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) identified a series of threats to Jewish communities in Los Angeles. The list included those of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and the Jewish Community Federation of Southern California (JCFS) as well as the Los Angeles Anti-Defamation League.
All but the JFNA were part of a group that met with members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to prepare for an attack. The meeting was held in July, and an individual identified as a “White Nationalist” was arrested. A member of the JFNA, who asked not to be named because he did not want to get involved in a “media circus,” told the Los Angeles Jewish Review that their attorney contacted the ADL about the threats. It is not clear if these threats are connected, but the Jewish Community Federation of Southern California (JCFS) was mentioned as one of the targets.
According to a report in the Los Angeles Forward,
The ADL listed the names of several Jewish organizations in the area, including the Los Angeles Jewish Federation, the UJ, the Union for Reform Judaism, the JCFS and its president, Rabbi Jeffrey Nitzan, said that he was “shocked” by the threats.
Nitzan is a former vice president of JCFS’s executive committee and has served as president and vice president on the executive committee of UJ, where, according to the ADL’s report, is “responsible for building Jewish ties in the city.” The Forward also notes that the JCFS’s president is a member of the board of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
The threat against the JFNA made by “a White Nationalist” also called for the “targeting” of any Jewish organization that “allows non-Whites to use ‘Jewish space,’” “uses Jewish symbols,” “or even simply walks behind a Jewish building without the purpose of making people aware that he is Jewish.”
The Forward added that “it’s