3 Massachusetts synagogues targeted with bomb threats
Law enforcement is investigating the source of the threats, which were issued by email on Sunday
Law enforcement did not find evidence of explosives at any of the three sites targeted. Photo by iStock
By Camillo Barone November 20, 2023
Multiple bomb threats targeted Jewish places of worship across Massachusetts on Sunday, heightening concerns for the Jewish community amid the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza.
The threats were received in three communities — Needham, Hingham, and Northampton —prompting swift responses from local law enforcement agencies. Congregation Sha’aray Shalom in Hingham, Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, and the Florence Congregational Church in Northampton, which houses Beit Ahavah, a Jewish synagogue, were evacuated as police investigated the threats.
All three synagogues received emails containing bomb threats. No explosives were found on site at any of them; law enforcement agencies are investigating to determine the threats’ origin.
In an interview, Cantor Steven Weiss, a leader at Hingham’s Congregation Sha’aray Shalom, told Boston 25 News that “you would not expect something to happen like this in a place like Hingham, but there’s lots of hate out there right now.”
The incidents in Massachusetts are part of a broader trend, as the Anti-Defamation League has reported a 400 percent increase in antisemitic attacks since Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Yet despite the fear and disruption caused by the threats, leaders and residents in the affected communitie also highlighted the outpouring of goodwill they’ve received, with Weiss mentioning that the congregation had received tremendous support received in the wake of the Sunday incident.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
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 week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
