A suspicious-looking metal box was exploded by police Tuesday afternoon at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, while at the same time a bomb threat forced evacuation of the University of Judaism here.
The metal box was discovered by private security guards shortly after noon, resting on the pedestal of a sculpture near the entrance to the Wiesenthal Center. At about the same time, police received an anonymous phone call that a bomb would explode at the center.
Police, the FBI and other law enforcement personnel responded immediately, cordoning off a stretch of Pico Blvd., and ordering the evacuation of several hundred people working at the center or visiting the adjoining Museum of Tolerance, according to Gerald Margolis, director of the center and museum.
The metal box was detonated by remote control about 5 p.m., but police would not say whether it contained any explosive material, pending laboratory tests. The all clear was given around 7 p.m.
At the University of Judaism, a bomb threat was phoned into the switchboard around 12:30 p.m. An immediate evacuation was ordered of about 200 people, including the university staff and participants in an Elder Hostel program, according to Mimi Sells, the university spokeswoman.
After two suspicious objects were sighted in the library and another part of the main building, the access road to the university was blocked off. The road block also cut access to and from Stephen S. Wise Temple, whose staff remained on the job.
After the suspicious objects were identified, the alarm was called off around 3:15 p.m.
The University of Judaism and the Wiesenthal Center also received bomb threats in the city’s initial bomb scare three weeks ago, as did the Israeli Consulate. Those threats came in the wake of last month’s bombing attacks against Jewish targets in Buenos Aires and London.
In advance of the High Holidays, the Board of Rabbis here has issued a security manual, prepared by the Anti-Defamation League, to 150 rabbis and synagogues in southern California. Security at the Jewish Community Building has been tightened to its highest level ever, said Dr. Steven Windmueller, director of the Jewish Community Relations Committee.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
