by Debra Rich Gettleman

The 1970s brought us Watergate, “Happy Days,” and bell-bottoms. They also brought us a slew of bomb threats that defined the decade. If you felt like you were living in a time warp this week, you are not alone. There were over 26 targeted bomb threats on synagogues and 2 on ADL offices across the county.

The idea of bomb threats is to strike fear into the hearts of the public. They scare everyone and create disruption to everyday life. The reality is that few of these threats result in detonation. But that doesn’t mean law enforcement can take those threats lightly.

The recent incidents are part of a string of 26 “swatting” calls aimed at synagogues in 12 states across the country. And the police response is known as “swatting” because it refers to the police SWAT teams that are summoned in such cases.

Whether it’s a 911 call insisting that there’s a backpack bomb hidden in a classroom cubby or a social media post warning that an explosion is imminent within the next 15 minutes, police take every threat seriously and arrive at the scene with bomb-sniffing dogs in tow.

The recent hoax calls are occurring against a backdrop of dangerously increasing incidents of antisemitism in the US. In fact, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitism incidents last year alone reached the highest level since 1979, when the ADL started keeping track.

The hoax calls go to police departments and suicide hotlines around the country. The gist of them is that some suicidal guy is about to off himself and has set up a bomb in a building to accomplish the deed.

When asked for the location of the bomb, the caller leaves the address of a synagogue that is livestreaming its services. Then, callers watch in real time as police interrupt frightened worshipers. They later post clips of the incidents online.

By combining technology and terror, hoax perpetrators can create massive fear in communities worldwide.

Oren Segal, ADL’s Center on Extremism director said in a recent New York Times article that the swatting calls pose a different type of threat than more typical antisemitic acts, such as graffiti or slurs.

“It’s the thousands of people that are anonymous, that are watching, that are getting excited by what they’re seeing and that may be animated to take it to the next level,” Mr. Segal said. “This is so dangerous because we don’t know who else is watching and what they might do based on what they’re seeing.”