The president of Congregation Brith Sholem, a Reform synagogue in Ogden, Utah, which was the target of a foiled bombing plot, told JNS that she urges all synagogues that don’t have security “to act immediately to correct that deficiency.”
“Jews can no longer hope for the best and ignore the rampant antisemitism in the world today,” Janice Ward, president of the city’s only synagogue, told JNS.
Ogden is located about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City.
Secure Community Network, the North American Jewish community’s official safety organization, notified police after discovering threatening posts made by Skyler Rose, according to Ward, who said that police responded to the news “rapidly.”
Rose, 22, who prosecutors said used Google Maps to search for the closest synagogue, was indicted on Wednesday. Officers also found pipe bombs in his bedroom and material to make more bombs, two rifles and ammunition.
“The indicted man has been in state custody since last December when the plot was foiled,” Ward told JNS. “The support of the Ogden police and mayor were fantastic along with support from the entire community, the FBI, the Department of Public Safety and other community partners.”
“We have had security at our synagogue for the past three to four years, well before this threat appeared,” she told JNS. “In the past year, we have added security to all our advertised events, either on our campus or off.”
