California
Police step up vigilance from California to NY; fear grows after Hamas leader calls for ‘day of jihad’
Heightened security at Bay Area synagogues
Bay Area religious leaders work with law enforcement to beef up security around synagogues and schools after Hamas calls for a global day of jihad.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Police from San Jose, Calif., to New York City say they are increasing patrols at Jewish schools and places of worship on Friday, the day a Hamas leader described as “Day of Jihad,” when he asked his followers to take to the streets and deliver a message of anger.
The J. Weekly reported that three schools on the Peninsula would be closed on Friday, and at least two Jewish schools in New York were also closing their doors on Friday, according to the Israel National News.
But other institutions, including the Russian Speaking Jewish Community of San Francisco, vowed to stay open.
“We’re taking this extremely seriously,” Rabbi Shimon Margolin old KTVU. But despite any concerns, services would go on.
He hired off-duty police officer to work security around the building, determined to remain vigilant.
“We don’t want to live in fear anymore,” Margolin said.
In addition, the Jewish Community Relations Council organized rallies throughout the country on Friday, including in San Francisco, titled “Bring Them Home,” in order to put pressure on the Israeli government to bring back the 150 Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Saturday.
The current fear stems from what senior Hamas official Ali Baraka said in an interview that aired on Russia Today TV on Tuesday. He said the Hamas attack on Israel had been planned for two years, Fox News reported.
And that was followed by former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal calling for protests across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians and for the peoples of neighboring countries to join the fight against Israel.
“[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,” Meshaal, who currently heads Hamas’s diaspora office, said in a recorded statement sent to Reuters.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Thursday acknowledged these threatening remarks and suggested that Jewish institutions be on high alert.
The Homeland Security advisor for the state said Thursday, there was no credible threat involving California.