Aug 6, 2009 6:08 am US/Eastern
Locals Wonder If Temple Bomb Threats Were Revenge
Police Investigating Threats Against Synagogues In Long Branch, Deal; No Bombs Found
DEAL, N.J. (CBS) ―
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Long Branch police responded to several bomb threats made against synagogues in the area on August 4, 2009. (File)
CBS
After Tuesday night's bomb threats that targeted three New Jersey synagogues, some are wondering if the threat was an act of revenge.
Dozens of FBI agents converged around 8 p.m. on synagogues in the towns of Long Branch and Deal, where there are known ties to the July 24 corruption sting.
Members of three synagogues were forced into the street after an anonymous caller phoned in the bomb threats. Bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in, but no explosive devices were found.
Long Branch resident Madlyn Sitton got a call about the threat from her frightened son.
"He said, 'Mommy, [at] Deal Shul, there's lots of cops and something happened, I believe it's a bomb scare,'" Sitton said.
At one synagogue, more than 300 people were celebrating a wedding and had to finish up their ceremony in the parking lot. Owners of a house across the street invited them to their backyard to continue their party.
The owners weren't home, but members of the tight-knit Syrian Jewish orthodox community said the good deed overshadowed the hate they felt last night.
Long Branch resident Samuel Seruya believes the threat came from outside their community.
"I'm wondering where this threat came from," Seruya said. "I don't really believe it came from our own type of people. It sounds like it's an anti-Semitic type of thing."
Investigators said the caller had a Middle Eastern accent.
Within the community, a lot of rumors are circulating, including questions as to whether this was retaliation over the corruption scandal probe that led to the arrest of five rabbis.
One of the rabbis charged, Edmund Nahume, is a rabbi at one of the synagogue of Deal, which was one of the three threatened.
When asked why she thought the community was targeted, Rina Braha said it was the corruption sting.
"With everything, all the scandals that went on," Braha said.
Sources said Solomon Dwek, the disgraced real estate mogul who worked as a confidential witness with the FBI to bring down members of the community, is also linked to the Deal synagogue.
Sources also said Dwek's father, who hasn't been accused of any wrong doing, is the main rabbi of Synagogue of Deal.
Local investigators are working with the FBI to try and identify the caller or callers. They're also asking the public for help. If you have any information, you're urged to call authorities.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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