SYDNEY (JTA) — Jewish day schools in Sydney increased security after a letter threatening violence against them was sent to police.
On Tuesday, the Sydney radio station 2GB broadcast the contents of the letter received by a police station in western Sydney the previous day. According to the report, it contained “threats of violence against non-Muslims, particularly Jewish schools and police stations,” and warned “that thousands will die.” The letter also contained a photo of an Islamic State fighter with “an array of severed heads in front of him,” 2GB reported.
The chief executive of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, Vic Alhadeff, told JTA: “We have been advised that this unconfirmed threat is general in nature and not cause for any changed security arrangements. Our schools are operating as normal. We are in regular contact with the NSW police and continue to take their advice in relation to this matter.”
But security reportedly was increased, with members of the Community Security Group, a volunteer organization that oversees Jewish community’s security and emergency management programs, being dispatched to the schools as a precautionary measure. A letter sent from the schools said they were “operating as normal.”
Armed guards are part of the regular security at the five Jewish day schools in Sydney.
