Congressman Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) added his support to the below letter led by Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (FL-07) and Joseph Crowley (NY-14) calling for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to swiftly assess and address the recent wave of threats made against Jewish Community Centers nationwide. The letter, signed by over 150 bipartisan members of Congress, calls on these agencies to outline the steps being taken to prevent and respond to such threats to keep the facilities and those they serve safe.
"I stand with the Jewish community across Florida and the United States, and urge the President and the Administration to condemn in the strongest terms the rising anti-Semitic threats against Jewish Community Centers throughout the country, including those in the Tampa Bay area,"
said Crist. "Immediate steps must be taken to prosecute the offenders, and to address this troubling wave of anti-Semitism. We cannot turn a blind eye to such hate-filled actions."
Please find the full text of the letter below:
February 22, 2017
The Honorable John F. Kelly
Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
3801 Nebraska Avenue, NW
The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
The Honorable James B. Comey
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20535
Dear Secretary Kelly, Attorney General Sessions, and Director Comey,
We write to express our deep concern regarding the recent spate of anonymous bomb threats made via telephone against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) across the nation. We urge the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to swiftly assess the situation and to advise Congress on what specific steps are being taken, or will be taken, to deter such threats from being made, to identify and prosecute the perpetrators for violations of federal criminal laws, and to enable JCCs to enhance security measures such as physical barriers and guards, in the event that an individual seeks to act upon these threats.
This is not an idle concern, given that there have been at least three casualty-causing attacks at JCCs or other Jewish institutions in the last two decades—in 2014 at a Kansas JCC, in 2006 at the Jewish Federation of Seattle, and in 1999 at a California JCC. This is a national problem and, as such, it requires a national solution.
In the first two months of 2017 alone, there have been 68 incidents targeting 53 JCCs in 26 states, according to JCC Association of North America. A number of JCCs, such as the Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, have received multiple threats.
These phone calls have an immediate emotional impact, of course, but they also have an economic impact. JCCs provide a range of educational and community services for Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and families, with a particular focus on children and youth. The individuals who make these calls no doubt recognize that bomb threats, particularly when repeated, can compromise and even destroy a JCC’s financial future.
We urge you to approach this issue with a sense of urgency, and to work in partnership with state and territory governments, local law enforcement officials, JCC Association of North America, individual JCCs, and Jewish community institutions and leaders to address the threat in a holistic manner. We look forward to your response regarding the specific steps being taken to prevent and respond to this threat.
Sincerely,
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1. Rep. Stephanie Murphy
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2. Rep. Joseph Crowley
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3. Rep. Val Demings
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4. Rep. Daniel Donovan
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5. Rep. Marcy Kaptur
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6. Rep. Tim Ryan
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7. Rep. Grace Meng
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8. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
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9. Rep. Steve Cohen
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10. Rep. Nydia Velazquez
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11. Rep. Alcee Hastings
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12. Rep. Juan Vargas
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13. Rep. Jimmy Panetta
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14. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
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15. Rep. Rosa DeLauro
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16. Rep. Leonard Lance
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17. Rep. John Lewis
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18. Rep. John Sarbanes
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19. Rep. Paul Tonko
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20. Rep. Jim Cooper
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21. Rep. Darren Soto
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22. Rep. Dwight Evans
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23. Rep. Nita Lowey
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24. Rep. Jerrold Nadler
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25. Rep. Matt Cartwright
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26. Rep. John Yarmuth
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27. Rep. Kathleen Rice
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28. Rep. Pramila Jayapal
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29. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
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30. Rep. Charlie Crist
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31. Rep. Ted Deutch
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32. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton
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33. Rep. John Delaney
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34. Rep. David Joyce
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35. Rep. Brian Higgins
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36. Rep. Donald McEachin
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37. Rep. William Keating
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38. Rep. Brenda Lawrence
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39. Rep. Betty McCollum
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40. Rep. Frederica Wilson
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41. Rep. James McGovern
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42. Rep. Lois Frankel
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43. Rep. Elijah Cummings
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44. Rep. Eliot Engel
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45. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart
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46. Rep. Charlie Dent
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47. Rep. Michael Capuano
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48. Rep. Claudia Tenney
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49. Rep. Alan Lowenthal
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50. Rep. Luis Gutierrez
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51. Rep. David Cicilline
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52. Rep. Thomas Suozzi
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53. Rep. Sander Levin
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54. Rep. Seth Moulton
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55. Rep. Rick Larsen
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56. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
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57. Rep. Brad Schneider
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58. Rep. Jacky Rosen
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59. Rep. Jose Serrano
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60. Rep. Dina Titus
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61. Rep. Tom MacArthur
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62. Rep. Carolyn Maloney
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63. Rep. Jackie Speier
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64. Rep. David Scott
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65. Rep. John Conyers
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66. Rep. Brendan Boyle
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67. Rep. Derek Kilmer
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68. Rep. Jan Schakowsky
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69. Rep. Blake Farenthold
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70. Rep. Eric Swalwell
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71. Rep. Bill Pascrell
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72. Rep. Suzan DelBene
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73. Rep. Patrick Meehan
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74. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
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75. Rep. Robin Kelly
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76. Rep. Peter Welch
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77. Rep. Danny Davis
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78. Rep. Donald Beyer
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79. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema
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80. Rep. Donald Norcross
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81. Rep. Bill Johnson
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82. Rep. Filemon Vela
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83. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
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84. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver
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85. Rep. Joe Courtney
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86. Rep. Gus Bilirakis
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87. Rep. Gerald Connolly
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88. Rep. WM Lacy Clay
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89. Rep. Ryan Costello
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90. Rep. Anna Eshoo
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91. Rep. Elizabeth Esty
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92. Rep. Diana DeGette
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93. Rep. Daniel Lipinski
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94. Rep. Kathy Castor
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95. Rep. Ted Lieu
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96. Rep. John Larson
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97. Rep. James Langevin
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98. Rep. Jim Himes
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99. Rep. Bill Foster
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100. Rep.Earl Blumenauer
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101. Rep. Keith Ellison
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102. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
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103. Rep. Jim Bridenstine
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104. Rep. Peter Visclovsky
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105. Rep. Hank Johnson
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106. Rep. Terri Sewell
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107. Rep. Salud Carbajal
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108. Rep. Joyce Beatty
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109. Rep. Dave Trott
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110. Rep. John Faso
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111. Rep. Robert Brady
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112. Rep. Greg Meeks
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113. Rep. Mike Thompson
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114. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen
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115. Rep. Stephen Lynch
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116. Rep. Doris Matsui
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117. Rep. Julia Brownley
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118. Rep. Frank Pallone
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119. Rep. Bill Posey
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120. Rep. Al Green
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121. Rep. Adam Schiff
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122. Rep. Josh Gottheimer
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123. Rep. Adriano Espaillat
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124. Rep. Yvette Clarke
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125. Rep. Raul Grijalva
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126. Rep. Jamie Raskin
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127. Rep. Ron Kind
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128. Rep. Marc Veasey
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129. Rep. Barbara Lee
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130. Rep. Albio Sires
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131. Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott
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132. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
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133. Rep. Vern Buchanan
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134. Rep. Jared Polis
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135. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter
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136. Rep. Andre Carson
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137. Rep. John Katko
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138. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
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139. Rep. Carlos Curbelo
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140. Rep. Sanford Bishop
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141. Rep. Frank LoBiondo
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142. Rep. Marcia Fudge
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143. Rep. Christopher Smith
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144. Rep. Ruben Gallego
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145. Rep. Peter Roskam
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146. Rep. Jared Huffman
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147. Rep. James Renacci
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148. Rep. Raul Ruiz
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149. Rep. Zoe Lofgren
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150. Rep. Richard Neal
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151. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez
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152. Rep. Patrick Tiberi
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153. Rep. Joseph Kennedy
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154. Rep. Tom O’Halleran
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