US/World News

Bomb threat cancels Balfour Declaration event in Florida

(JTA) – A bomb threat forced the cancellation of an event at the Jewish Museum of Florida on the Balfour Declaration. Law enforcement apprehended a 21-year-old college student after he allegedly issued the threat ahead of the Nov. 2 event, the American Jewish Committee’s Miami office said in a statement.

Oscar Aguayo, who attends Florida International University, was taken into police custody, according to the Miami Herald. Police said the message threatened to “raise havoc” at the event. While Aguayo was being interviewed by police, an FIU police dog identified possible explosives in his car, leading to the evacuation of a university parking garage. The event was to celebrate the centenary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government vowed to help establish a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel without jeopardizing the rights of other area inhabitants. It was the first formal recognition and approval by a world power of the Zionist cause. The Palestinian Authority has demanded Britain apologize for the declaration, which British Prime Minister Theresa May has declined to do.

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