More than 50 synagogues in Florida got bomb threats, Bryan Leib says its 'open season' on Jews

More than 50 synagogues in Florida received bomb threats last week, resulting in sweeps of the buildings and evacuations. State officials are investigating the matter. Governor DeSantis said in a statement that "“We allocated tens of millions to combat rising anti-Semitism,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “If anyone attempts to bring it here, they’ll face significant resistance.”

Some areas where synagogues were threatened include Coral Gables, Broward County and Palm Beach, according to local reports.

Sharon Israel Moskowitz, the executive director of Temple Judea in Coral Gables released a statement, reassuring that everyone was safe. 

"I think it's gonna get traumatically worse," Republican candidate for Florida's 25th congressional district, Bryan Leib, told Just the News in a phone interview. "I think a lot of these pro-Hamas supporters wanted to see how far they can get on the college campuses and see how far they can push.”

"It's open season for Jews," he continued. "That's how we feel at least."

Authorities in Palm Beach, Florida arrested a suspect who threatened to shoot up a synagogue in the area after he made antisemitic threats on social media. 

Paul Morris, 26, wrote messages on Discord and Instagram and said he was going to shoot up a synagogue, but didn't list a specific one. He was reported by the director of security for the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach TV reports.

The identity of who made threats to the other synagogues is still being investigated. 

A report put forth by the Anti-Defamation League at the end of 2023 reported that antisemitism has been on the rise and the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas "helped spread a fire that was already out of control."

The ADL said it had recorded 7,523 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2023 while 3,697 were recorded in 2022. Significant increases occurred in cities such as Los Angeles and New York City.   

“I think that we find ourselves in difficult times with so much unexpected antisemitism that has reared its ugly head ... .especially since Oct. 7," Rabbi Yisroel Spalter at the Chabad of Weston Center for Jewish Life in Weston, Florida told Just the News.

It was recently reported that extra security for Jewish day schools and preschools across Florida has been employed, according to local reports. 

“We have been given extra security over these past few months and we appreciate that very much," Rabbi Spalter said, later saying that Florida officials have been doing a great job protecting Jewish communities. 

Leib said that his concern is higher education where many young people are being taught antisemitism, specifically since anti-Israel protests have broken out on college campuses since Oct. 7.

He said that Congress should use the power of the purse when it comes to antisemitism. 

"If you want to create a college campus where Jewish students are afraid to leave their dorms, you should receive no federal funding," Leib said. 

Anti-Israel protests have broken out at Columbia University in New York, George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and other colleges across the U.S. A large number of the protestors, often hiding their faces in the black and white "keffiyeh" scarf identified with Hamas terrorists, and displaying pro-Palestinian flags, were been charged with trespassing, and resisting arrest. 

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced this month that he was dropping charges against 31 of the 46 anti-Israel protesters arrested at Columbia University in April.

"What Alvin Bragg is saying to all New Yorkers who follow the law is if you conceal your identity, if you harass Jews long enough, if you break property, if you take maintenance workers hostage, if you do that, you will not be prosecuted,” activist and Harvard University grad student Shabbos Kestenbaum told The New York Post.

"We will not let this intimidate us," Rabbi Spalter said. "We will survive antisemitism."