WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration quintupled to $25 million rewards for information leading to the return of Robert Levinson, the Jewish American last seen in Iran 12 years ago. The $20 million allocation from the State Department Rewards for Justice announced Monday is in addition to the $5… Read more »
Tagged FBI
White supremacist arrested in plot to blow up Colorado synagogue

(JTA) — A white supremacist has been arrested for plotting to blow up a synagogue in Colorado. Richard Holzer, 27, was charged for planning to attack Temple Emanuel, a congregation in Pueblo of 35 families whose building dates to 1900. According to an affidavit describing the charges, Holzer is… Read more »
Ohio man arrested for planning deadly attack on synagogue
(JTA) — A 21-year-old Ohio man was arrested for planning an attack on a Toledo-area synagogue. Damon Joseph of Holland was charged Monday in U.S. District Court in Toledo with attempting to provide material support to ISIS. He told an undercover FBI agent that he was inspired by the… Read more »
FBI: Israeli-American teen who threatened JCCs sold his bomb threat services
(JTA) The Israeli-American teenager accused of making hundreds of threats against Jewish community centers in the United States sold his bomb threat services. (The Tucson Jewish Community Center was among the facilities threatened, with one incident in February and another in March.) Michael Kadar, 19, from Ashkelon in southern… Read more »
Rod Rosenstein: 5 things to know about the man who helped Comey get fired

(JTA) — Until this year, Rod Rosenstein was an unassuming U.S. attorney with a reputation for fairness. Now he’s at the center of the controversy over President Donald Trump’s snap firing of James Comey, the FBI director. Rosenstein, 52, whose appointment by Trump as deputy attorney general was confirmed… Read more »
James Comey, fired by Trump and reviled by Democrats, had admirers among Jewish defense officials

WASHINGTON (JTA) — “You make us better,” James Comey told the Anti-Defamation League in his final public speech as FBI director. Judging from the applause in the conference room at the venerable Mayflower Hotel here, the feeling was mutual. Mired in investigations of the scandals of 2016 (Hillary… Read more »
JCC bomb threat probe hindered by tech disguises

NEW YORK (JTA) — A person calls a Jewish institution, makes a bomb threat and hangs up. The call lasts no more than a minute, the caller’s voice is disguised and the call is made to look as if it came from inside the building. How do you… Read more »
What’s a nice Jewish boy like Daniel Radcliffe doing playing a neo-Nazi?

(JTA) — In his new film, “Imperium,” Daniel Radcliffe plays FBI agent Nate Foster, who goes undercover to take down skinheads planning to set off a dirty bomb. The film, which opens Friday, is taut and exciting. It is also a movie the former “Harry Potter” star doesn’t want his… Read more »
Top Claims Conference officials carried out own botched probe of 2001 fraud

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Claims Conference in recent days has blamed a now-dead regional director for bungling an early warning in 2001 about a massive fraud scheme that wasn’t halted until 2009. But a document obtained by JTA shows top conference officials were sufficiently concerned by the allegations… Read more »
Who bombed Boston? Word for now is caution.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The day after the Boston Marathon bombing, President Obama called it an “act of terrorism.” What kind of terrorism, no one was ready to say — a caution that derives from years of wrongful speculation that on occasion has ruined innocent lives. Hours after the attack… Read more »
After Norway and before 9/11 anniversary, U.S. answers questions about homegrown threats

WASHINGTON (JTA) — With the Norway attacks fresh in mind and the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks fast approaching, are U.S. authorities paying attention to the right kinds of threats? The fear is that with polarization intensifying in America, extremists might mark the 10th anniversary of… Read more »