Police Arrest Israeli Jewish Teen over Bomb Threats to US Jewish Centers

Jewish teen used sophisticated technology to mask his bomb threats to U.S. JCCs.

Michael Kaydar, an 18-year-old man supposedly living in Ashkelon, a city located in Southeast Israel has been arrested. The list of charges against him include making a number of bomb threats towards Jewish organizations. He also threatened a US airline. Kaydar holds dual citizenship of both Israel and the United States.

Kaydar was arrested by Israeli police. The latter coordinated with the FBI to make this arrest. There are no plans at present to deport him to the United States for prosecution. The arrest has been particularly noted by the Trump administration. Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General of the United States, said on March 23 that the arrest on the same day is the end result of a thorough and wide ranging investigation touching a number of continents for anti-Semitic crimes in the US. He reiterated that the US Department of Justice is committed to protect rights of all US citizens. He added that the American government will not tolerate harassing any community simply on basis of religious beliefs.

Sessions' statement is important as the Anti-Defamation League has reported 165 bomb threats to target Jewish institutions all over the US. The list of threatened targets include ADL offices present in Boston, Washington DC, New York and San Francisco. Repeated threat calls have also been made to synagogues and schools.

The President Donald J. Trump led administration was berated for not reacting quickly on such threats. The White House subsequently denounced them. The suspect was finally caught after Australian and New Zealand police identified the computer's IP address. They discovered it was from inside Israel. Reports of sophisticated computer hardware and antennae has come to light. The voice was also altered by using sophisticated technology.

The Israeli police seized a few computers and other equipment from the house of the accused. Micky Rosenfeld, the spokesperson of Israeli police, said that the motives underpinning the threats are opaque. He said that Kaydar eschewed the use of regular phone lines. Instead, he used a number of different computer systems so that the calls and messages cannot be backtracked. Galit Bash, Kaydar's lawyer, told the media that he suffers from mental problem which affects the behavior. She said that such a condition has prevented the young man to serve in the army or enroll in a school. The investigation could be affected by the medical condition.

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