David Posnack JCC evacuated due to bomb threat

DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Jewish Community Center has been evacuated in Davie due to reports of a threat.

According to Davie Police, the David Posnack JCC, located at 5850 S. Pine Island Road, evacuated students, Monday morning, due to a bomb threat made over the phone.

“At about 9:20 this morning, the day school here at David Posnack Jewish Community Center received a call indicating that there was some type of explosive device within the complex,” said Davie Police Captain Dale Engle.

Students said for some time, they did not know what was happening. Parents who were also concerned for their children responded to the school to make sure they were safe after they were notified of the threat. “I got a text message, a phone call and an email,” said parent Elliot Zvi.

The incident frightened many students at the JCC. “They’re evacuating everybody from the campus just in case there is an explosive,” said student Freddy Rothschild. “Honestly, I feel really unsafe ’cause I know, as Jewish people, it’s really hard because we are targeted. We are a targeted people.”

Police added that this is one of 20 threats made across the country like in Indianapolis in Indiana and Tarrytown in New York, but parents in Davie are happy their children are OK.

“Thank God everybody’s OK,” said a parent. “The school did a great job at protecting the children, and all the parents are here to take care of each other.”

Police have relocated students to two different locations. The younger kids were moved to the Walgreens, near Pine Island Road and 57th Avenue, and older kids have moved to the parking lot of the Pentecostal Church, two blocks north of the JCC.

Parent Dr. Jaime Huysman said these kinds of threats hit close to home. “For me, it’s particularly scary,” he said. “My father’s a Holocaust survivor, and I just called him up, and he’s crying on the phone. This shouldn’t be happening in today’s day and age.”

“It’s really hard living this way. I’m just a normal person,” Rothschild said. “I wanna go to school. I want to hang out with my friends. This is preventing that, and it’s really upsetting that we have to go through this.”

The school and the Jewish Federation of Broward County released a statement that read in part, “There anti-Semitic incidents are deeply unsettling to the Jewish Community, causing fear and anxiety, intended to interfere with day-to-day life. The campus serves not just the Jewish community but the entire community.”

Davie Police said the threat is not credible, but they remain on the scene.

Parents have taken most of the children home. The FBI is now investigating.

“There’s a lot of hatred in the world,” Zvi said. “You have to be very, very careful and live a little bit more conservatively nowadays if you wanna be safe. I think it’s just a phase.”

If you have any information on who made the threat, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.

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