Anthrax threat shuts Hillel; Powder found to be harmless

Penn's Hillel director found the white powder in a piece of hate mail sent to the Jewish center. The Hillel Foundation received a virulently anti-Semitic piece of mail yesterday containing a suspicious powdery substance that the letter claimed was the lethal toxin anthrax. Federal authorities determined later in the day that the substance was in fact non-toxic. According to police, Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin was the first to open the envelope, which was not addressed to any specific person. Brochin called police at about 9:45 a.m. Within minutes, units from the University Police, the Philadelphia Fire Department, the FBI and a federal counter-terrorism task force were on the scene to close the building and investigate the matter. After quarantining both Brochin and the entire building, police and fire investigators determined that the substance was in fact not anthrax. The building was then reopened and the substance and letter were sent off to an FBI laboratory for further analysis. "The FBI has now determined [the substance] not to be a chemical hazard at all," said University Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Thomas King. "They're still not exactly sure what it is, but as far as the tests for dangerous substances, those have all come back negative." Neither Hillel leaders nor University Police would speculate on who might have sent the threatening piece of mail. "I have no idea [who sent the letter]," Brochin said. "The letter mentioned the Holocaust vigil last week and expresses disgust with the vigil." Earlier this month, the Jewish community observed Yom Hashoah, a holiday commemorating the Holocaust, with a vigil on College Green. Though they have few leads at this point, the initial belief of investigators is that the letter likely came from an individual with little or no affiliation with the University. "It's difficult if not impossible to tell initially where the letter came from, though we believe it came from somewhere far off campus," King said. University officials were shocked that someone would choose to send such a threatening and derogatory piece of mail. "It was a distasteful and despicable hoax and it has no place here or in society," University spokesman Ken Wildes said. Leaders within the Jewish community said that while acts like this should always arouse concern, this particular incident appears to be an isolated event and the work of an individual or a small group -- not that of a larger hate group. "It's important to look at the incident in a larger context," said Barry Morrison, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of Philadelphia. "It appears to be an isolated incident not explicitly related to anything else anywhere in the country." The timing of the letter -- which was postmarked April 19 -- should also cause suspicion, Morrison said, as it could have likely been sent in conjunction with a number of infamous anniversaries. "We're certainly aware of the fact that April 20 both fell on Passover and was the anniversary of Hitler's birthday," Morrison said. "April 19 was also the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, the fire at Waco and the execution of the white supremacist Richard Snell, so in one context these dates could mean something." Brochin echoed those sentiments, saying that while the incident was certainly disturbing, it was likely not indicative of any larger trend of anti-Semitism on campus. "I think this is a disturbed person, and there's not much you can do about it," he said. "I think I might now be a little more vigilant when it comes to opening a letter, and I think the staff [at Hillel] will be more vigilant as well."

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