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Brookline temple stops livestreaming services on YouTube after hoax bomb threat
By adamg on Wed, 08/30/2023 - 11:43am
Brookline.news reports how local synagogues are reacting to the Aug. 18 bomb hoax called into Temple Beth Zion, where Rabbi Claudia Kreiman moved her congregation outside to continue its service "while the lights of a firetruck flashed behind them."
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Comments
Glad to see someone besides UHub covering this
The MSM papers should be embarrassed not to have even mentioned the bomb threat. One correction for Brookline News - the name of the synagogue is never abbreviated to "Beth Zion" - it's official name is TBZ.
TBZ is going to continue livestreaming on Zoom, which will require a password for access. It's noteworthy that Rav Claudia is no stranger to terrorism - her mother was killed in the 1994 Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires.
local story covered locally?
The Brookline News and WHDH (both of which are part of the msm) reported that the police arrived, searched and quickly deemed the bomb threat to be a hoax.
Not much of a swatting. Wouldn’t it just be giving the shmucks who did this a win to elevate it to a big crisis story? Seems to me that a story in a local paper that focusses as much on the resilience and joy of the TBZ congregation as on the hateful attempt to disrupt services is exactly the sort of news-judo that will discourage copycats.
When it happened, should have been at least mentioned by Globe
The surge in bomb threats and swattings of synagogues and other institutions across the country recently, usually during religious services in the case of synagogues, is not minor. It's something being organized by groups in places like #4chan that are virulently antisemitic. The major Jewish high holy days are approaching in the next few weeks. All local synagogues have had to increase security and people are frightened of going to the most important services of the year. The increase in antisemitic activity over the past few years is a crisis.
How many local churches have to hire guards to stand outside the doors for Sundays and Christmas services? How many have had to stop live streaming services for protection?
Brookline News is not MSM. This is a story that should have at least gotten mentioned on the Globe and Herald websites, which have front page stories about car crashes in Danvers or some Patriots player's thoughts on a topic that doesn't matter.
Disagree
I've heard this argument used more times than I can count with regard to threats and harassment of marginalized communities, and I say: no. It wouldn't. What would give them a win is pretending it's no big deal and ignoring it, all the while the attacks escalate.
These aren't schoolyard bullies, and there isn't a teacher who's going to curb their behavior. Those who are under threat from right wing terrorism are living with the reality that they are targets and they are not protected. And whenever I hear the argument that surely it's not that bad, surely we can ignore it, let's not give them the satisfaction, let's go over here and do/say something positive to show the world that we're good people, really, just as good as anyone else...I think of the Jews who said the same things in Europe as the Nazis rose to power. For many of them, by the time they figured out that yes, it is that bad...it was too late to get out.
So, you can consider this "Not much of a swatting", as you say. But what is a big deal? Does that change if you're the one being targeted? How would you know when it was time to run?
I just don't think "no big deal" is the right thing to say to people who have a history of being the proverbial frogs being boiled alive.