Bomb threat leads to Hillel evacuation

and Stephen Sanford The Penn Hillel Foundation and surrounding buildings were evacuated for nearly an hour yesterday, after a call placed to Hillel threatened that a bomb would detonate inside the building at 4 p.m. Both University and Philadelphia Police responded to the scene, sealing off the area around Hillel, but were unable to locate any explosive devices. No one was hurt in the incident, which Interim President Claire Fagin called "awful and reprehensible." Yesterday was also Adolf Hitler's birthday. Last night, University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said no one has claimed responsibility for the threats to Hillel. Kuprevich also verified that call tracing is being used by the police as one of their "investigative tools." The turnaround time on call traces is usually a day, though, Kuprevich added. The bomb threat was one of a series of at least 10 threatening and anti-Semitic calls received at Hillel all day yesterday and the night before, Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin said last night. According to Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Howard Alpert, the calls over the last 48 hours all came from the same "young male." The Hillel bomb threat and harassing calls come after a series of other anti-Semitic incidents which took place in Community House, a section of the Quadrangle. Over the last six weeks, two signs reading "The Jewish God Eats Human Shit" and three swastikas have been found taped to the fire door on the first floor of Cleemann. Although Kuprevich said he cannot yet conclude that the incidents are related, he said the possibility of a connection is certainly not being ruled out. And Brochin said he thinks the two situations are probably connected. "It seems awfully coincidental," he added. "But I have no evidence." College freshman Kathy Frenck said she answered the telephone in the first floor Penn Hillel office when the second of two bomb threats was made at about 3:15 p.m., minutes after the first was called in. Frenck said that the caller stated, "There is a bomb that will detonate at 4 p.m. Kill all Jews. Kill all Israelis. Kill the bastards. Happy Israeli Independence Day." Just before Frenck took the call, the offices of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, which occupy the third floor of Penn Hillel, also received a phone call threatening a 4 p.m. bomb detonation. The call was answered by Office Manager Joyce Michaels. Ten minutes before that call was received, Michaelson said the same person called and stated, "Jews suck," before hanging up. Frenck said she informed her office supervisor, Mary Ann Needs, after receiving the threat. Needs then alerted Brochin, who immediately began evacuating the building's approximately 30 occupants. University Police arrived "in two or three minutes," Frenck added. After the bomb threat, at least three more harassing calls were received at Hillel. Penn Hillel Assistant Director Rabbi Sharon Stiefel said the latter was from a caller who said, "Jews suck, they are going to die." Brochin said he answered one of yesterday's harassing calls himself, and also thinks it is the same individual who made the earlier calls. Rabbi Bonnie Goldberg, a Hillel of Greater Philadelphia staff member, picked up the phone on the third floor Tuesday night and heard someone say "Jews suck," Michaelson said. After the call was received, Michaelson said office workers were instructed to turn on the answering machine in case any additional calls came in. When Michaelson returned to the office the next morning and played back Tuesday night's messages, she heard a message from the same person, saying on tape "This is Hitler -- Jews suck." Hillel staff reacted strongly last night to the rash of threatening and harassing calls placed over the last two days. "This is not a bigot, this is a sick person," Brochin said of the caller. And Alpert said if the perpetrator is found, "Hillel will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law." Brochin said, after making a report to University Police yesterday morning about the anti-Semitic message left on the machine, the police came to Hillel and took the tape as evidence. Though Kuprevich said last night he would not comment on the specifics of the investigation, he added that the tape is considered a piece of evidence and can be used to "substantiate or prove something" later in the investigation. Before the bomb threat was received yesterday, a person who said he was looking for the bathroom inside Hillel set off the basement burglar alarm, Michaelson said. Hillel's Food Service Manager Scott Sueker investigated the basement alarm and "chased the man out," Michaelson added. The Hillel incidents have evoked feelings of pride and community from both Jewish and non-Jewish students. "The only way we can better ourselves is by standing together in solidarity and unity," said Engineering junior Marc Johnson, chairperson of the Hillel Executive Va'ad, the Hillel student government. College freshman David Chalom said he is "sort of glad" the episodes occurred. "[They] enlighten the whole student body about the anti-Semitism that is present not just on this campus, but around the world," he added. Fagin said the University administration will continue to "show the students how supportive we are." Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum will be speaking Friday night at Hillel, where more than 250 students pray and eat, Alpert said. Staff Writers Jeremy Kahn and Peter Morrison contributed to this article.