OUR COMMUNITY

A

s antisemitism in its
many forms con-
tinues to be on the
rise around the country and
world, a pair of hoax bomb
threats were called into West
Bloomfield’s Frankel Jewish
Academy — one on the after-
noon of Tuesday, Nov. 1,
and one on the morning of
Wednesday, Nov. 2.
A few minutes before 3 p.m.
on Tuesday, FJA received a call
from an unknown individual
asking questions about the
layout of the building and ref-
erencing pipe bombs. Officers
from the West Bloomfield
Police Department, including
K-9 units, were immediate-
ly dispatched to the Jewish
Community Center on 6600 W
.
Maple Road, and students and
faculty were evacuated to Jewish
Senior Life facilities west of the
FJA campus. After an exhaus-
tive search of the building and
campus, both were secured. All
students and staff were deemed
to be safe.
WBPD Deputy Chief Curt
Lawson says FJA
apparently wasn’t
the only place to
receive similar calls
that day.
“It’s our under-
standing — we
found out after
everything was
clear and there was
no threat — that there were
other calls to Jewish facilities in
different parts of the country.”
On Wednesday morning, it’s

believed the same individ-
ual called in another bomb
threat to FJA. Students and
staff were kept in school, on
the advice of the police, and
a smaller police presence
was placed there.
“We do have officers
on site there now, and our
detectives are working hard
at trying to determine who
this individual is,” Lawson
said that morning.

SCHOOL STATEMENT
FJA
’s Head of School Rabbi
Azaryah Cohen issued a state-
ment to parents
and students after
the threat on
Tuesday.
“
As you know,
FJA received a
threat today. We
are thankful that
everyone is safe
and that our building and cam-
pus have been secured. Our
school Security and Emergency
Response Team responded
quickly and decisively to ensure
our students and staff were safe
and cared for throughout the
incident.
“Our staff and administrators
maintained an orderly pres-
ence, and our students acted
calmly and maturely. In fact,
their behavior and conduct
were commended by police and
security personnel.
“We have partnerships with
law enforcement and have
established security protocols
to respond to the safety and

security needs of our commu-
nity. My sincere gratitude goes
out to the West Bloomfield
Police Department, Oakland
County Sheriff’s Office, other
law enforcement agencies
from across the state, Jewish
Community Security Inc., and
to FJA
’s security team for their
important work today.
“Thank you to all of the par-
ents and community partners
for your support and coopera-
tion throughout the process. As
we resume normal school activ-
ities tomorrow, our teachers and
social worker will be checking
in with students to address any
concerns.”
JCC CEO Brian Siegel issued
a similar statement
via email to the
community.
“Nothing is more
important than the
safety and security
of our patrons, staff
and community,”
the statement read.
“We appreciate your ongoing
support, especially during these
difficult moments.”

OTHERS SPEAK OUT
Nominee for state
representative in the 20th
District, Noah
Arbit (D-West
Bloomfield) in the
Nov. 8 election,
also issued a
statement after the
threat.
“While we
await further investigation
before discerning a motive
for the threat, it would be
facile not to acknowledge the
current environment of rising
antisemitism, hate and political
violence across our country,
particularly one week before a
contentious national election.
“To the students, parents,
teachers and community
members at FJA and across
West Bloomfield, I know
that today has been deeply
frightening. As a graduate of
FJA, I share your distress at
today’s incident, and stand
united alongside you in
declaring that antisemitism,
hate and violence have no
home in West Bloomfield.”

Police investigate two hoaxes.

Frankel Jewish Academy
Bomb Threats

WBPD
Deputy
Chief Curt
Lawson
Brian
Siegel

Rabbi
Azaryah
Cohen

Noah Arbit

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

14 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022