Report: Israel refuses US extradition request for JCC bomb suspect

Israel’s reported refusal to extradite the suspect behind the wave of bomb threats against US Jewish centers comes days after the US Justice Department filed charges.  

Israel has refused a request from the United States to extradite the Israeli-American suspect behind the waves of bomb threats against Jewish community centers across the United States earlier this year, according to Israel’s Channel 2.

Instead, Israel plans to allow prosecutors in Israel to charge the suspect on Monday for counts of extortion, causing panic, and money laundering.

US Attorney General Jess Sessions announced on Friday that the US Justice Department was filing charges against the suspect.

“Today’s charges into these violent threats to Jewish community centers and others represent this department’s commitment to fighting all forms of violent crime,” Sessions said in a statement.

The charges were filed in two federal courts in separate states. At a court in Orlando, the suspect was indicted for 28 counts of making threatening calls, as well as transmitting false information to the police. The indictment at a court in Georgia charges the suspect with providing false information to the police, three counts of threatening phone calls, and cyberstalking.

The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that primarily focuses on battling anti-Semitism, believes the suspect should be extradited to the United States.

“While we have the utmost respect for Israel’s law enforcement authorities and its criminal justice system, we think it is entirely appropriate for the alleged perpetrator to face criminal charges in the United States,” said the ADL’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

“The serious disruption of lives and services happened here in the United States; the alleged perpetrator should face charges here,” he added.

By: World Israel News Staff

Anti-Defamation LeagueJCC bomb threatsJeff SessionsJonathan GreenblattUS-Israel relations