Parents of JCC Bomb Hoax Suspect: ‘We Are So, So Sorry’
The mother of the teen suspect in the JCC bomb threat case, who asked not to be identified. Image by Naomi Zeveloff
The parents of Michael Kadar, the Israeli teenager accused of launched fake bomb threats at dozens of American Jewish institutions and starting his own Web-based document forgery and weapons sales operations, said their son was not responsible for his actions given severe neurological deficits.
“We are so, so, sorry,” the two told the Times of Israel.
“People want him to apologize. They want him to say sorry… He does not understand the concept,” the mother, identified as G., told the newspaper.
According to the parents, their son was a strange child from soon after his birth: dyslexic and incapable of socializing normally, while also showing an exceptional ability to recognize patterns and learn systems.
The two said that they were forced to seek treatment for him in America, where he was eventually diagnosed as having a brain tumor in a location that was difficult to operate on, leading to autism and other personality deficits. They claim to have been unaware of what their son was doing, and have asked for donations to pay for their legal and medical expenses.
“Not many parents have suffered more than we have,” G. said. “This is a sick child.”
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
