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June 28, 2002/Tamuz 18 5762, Vol. 54, No. 41
Jewish vigilance high after FBI warning
JOE BERKOFSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - An FBI warning that Al-Qaida might attack Jewish targets with gas trucks ignited widespread concern and fueled heightened security in Jewish communities nationwide this week.
From Jewish organization offices to community centers to synagogues, news spread quickly June 21 of the latest FBI terror warning that Al-Qaida operatives at one point discussed attacking Jewish institutions with bomb-laden gasoline tankers.
The Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, both based in New York, alerted member agencies throughout the country about the potential attacks, and many then notified local groups.
"The ADL is advising Jewish institutions to be extremely alert to fuel and tanker trucks parked near their facilities," said the ADL's director of security, Robert Martin. "The police should be called immediately if any doubt exists relative to the legitimacy of such trucks (i.e., no fuel delivery was expected)," Martin said in a memo.
Yet Jewish groups were also being cautioned not to overreact to the fuel-truck alert since, like earlier Al-Qaida threats and subsequent FBI warnings, it did not refer to any specific targets or dates and remained uncorroborated.
"We're not saying this is business as usual. This is a time for special vigilance. Prudence and alertness, not panic, is the message we're trying to get across," said Martin Raffel, associate executive director of the JCPA.
Still, the latest FBI warning, which preceded a report in The New York Times on June 23 that Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the deadly fuel truck bombing of a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba on April 11, inflamed fears nonetheless.
Hoping in part to dampen any fears, these groups are urging several steps in response to the latest threat, including coordinating security measures with local police.
Some moved to take pre-emptive action.
The Orthodox Union scheduled a day of safety training July 10 for synagogues, schools and community facilities. The O.U. said the session, set for 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at its New York City office, would be also be Webcast at www.ou.org.
Around the country, synagogues and institutions reacted swiftly to the latest in a series of terror alerts.
Rabbi William Hamilton, of Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, Mass., said he'd met with local police twice since June 21, and police have increased patrols past the synagogue, located on a main street in the heavily Jewish suburb of Boston.
Rabbi Mark Diamond, executive vice president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, said many Jewish institutions in the Los Angeles area toughened their security after a deadly shooting rampage at a local Jewish community center in 1999.
Such steps included hiring security guards, erecting concrete barriers outside buildings and, in some cases, searching cars. Some synagogues now require guests to RSVP before attending life cycle events, he added.
The same was true in Washington, where many Jewish leaders said security had been stepped up after the Los Angeles JCC attack and reinforced after Sept. 11. The FBI alert was just another reminder to be vigilant, they said.
Julia Kay of the Washington Jewish Week and Lani Harac of the Baltimore Jewish Times contributed to this report.
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