Jewish School Bomb Threat Evacuation: Personal Account

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The following is a personal account from a student who was evacuated due to a bomb threat in their Jewish day school:

Hello,

I am a student at one of the Jewish schools that was evacuated yesterday due to a bomb threat. I would like to share a story of what happened that did not make it onto the news:

I never thought it would happen to me. For weeks I would see new stories of JCC’s across the country receiving bomb threats.

Today, during Tefillah (Prayer), that is exactly what happened. A person called my school today and said that a bomb would go off in about 10 minutes to 3 hours. The fire alarm went off as soon as we began the Torah service for Rosh Chodesh Adar (the new month of Adar). No one knew what was happening. I grabbed my siddur and my phone, thinking there was a fire.

I was amazed how students around me immediately rushed not to the exit doors, but to the Torah that was on the table, ready to bring it with us to safety. We evacuated quietly and quickly.

As we waited outside for further instructions, news spread quickly that there was a bomb threat. Though we were all scared, we did not let that deter us from being proud Jews and continuing our Torah service outside, on top of a car’s hood.

When I saw most of the student body crowd around the Torah, men with their tefillin and women with their siddurim, I felt chills go down my spine. We sang our prayers to G-d loudly and proudly. We are Jews and we are proud of who we are. No one can stop us from practicing our religion.

We were then evacuated to a nearby parking lot where parents were notified to pick up their children. My friend and I sat under a tree and read Tehillim (Psalms).

Thank G-d my mother, sister, and I made it out okay. Thank G-d the threat turned out to be false. Thank G-d we are all safe. Thank G-d for our police department keeping us safe. Thank G-d for our amazing teachers and administration for comforting students and making sure procedure was followed.

It is sad to know that in 2017, Jews are still under attack, simply for being Jews. Today, 1 Adar, we look forward to celebrating the holiday of Purim where the Jewish people beat the odds and survived the evil wrath of Haman. As Jews today, we must do the same to defy evil, and remember and be proud of who we are.

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