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Man arrested after allegedly threatening Florida temple with bomb

The synagogue’s elementary school had to be placed on lockdown as a result.

City Hall in Ormond Beach, Fla.
City Hall in Ormond Beach, Fla. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

A man was arrested on Jan. 28 as a result of a bomb threat made against a synagogue in Ormond Beach, Fla., six miles from Daytona Beach in the northern part of the state, according to local police.

The Ormond Beach Police Department stated that Robert Tuck, 57, is suspected of calling Temple Beth-El, a Reform synagogue in the city, that morning and making the threat. The synagogue’s elementary school was subsequently placed on lockdown, and law enforcement searched the area for explosives, ultimately finding none.

Tuck was arrested that afternoon in Daytona Beach.

He faces charges that include threatening to throw, project, place or discharge a destructive device and issuing a false report on planting a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction, per police.

Israel’s military called it a “cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians.”
An American Jewish Committee spokesman told JNS that the group is “grateful for the severity with which the Justice Department is handling this case.”
NYPD said the investigation into the death of Albert Itzkowitz, 75, a former Hatzolah volunteer and kosher bakery owner, remains ongoing and that no arrests have been made.
“At a time when Jewish Americans are facing a deeply troubling rise in violence and harassment, it is critical to recognize organizations that have spent generations standing up to hate and defending the truth,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said.
Rabbi Jason Rosner, of Congregation B’nai Emet, told JNS that “we are prepared to evacuate our Torahs if necessary.”