A bomb threat called into Donna Klein Jewish Academy on Monday afternoon prompted a campus-wide evacuation and search. The academy is at 9701 Donna Klein Blvd. in West Boca Raton. The Zale center is at 9801 Donna Klein Blvd.
The threat was called into Donna Klein Jewish Academy, according to WPBF, which first reported the campus-wide evacuation Monday and noted the story was still developing. The preschool sits on the gated, 100-acre Toby & Leon Cooperman Campus, a site that draws roughly 5,000 daily visitors across multiple Jewish community organizations, according to the Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center. The Zale center spans 18 classrooms serving children from infants through pre-kindergarten, per the same organization's own description of the facility.
A Preschool Serving More Than 300 Families
The Zale center serves more than 300 families and operates under the direction of Stacey Rosenberg, Vice President of Early Childhood Education Services, the Levis JCC has said. The preschool had recently undergone major facility and playground renovations, and in January, Levis JCC leadership finalized the purchase of its primary building on the campus from the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, securing permanent ownership of its program spaces.
This is not the first time the same West Boca Raton campus has faced this exact scenario. In January 2014, the campus on Donna Klein Boulevard was placed on lockdown and the Zale preschool was evacuated after a bomb threat, according to BocaNewsNow. Bomb-sniffing dogs were led through the campus, and police issued an all-clear after finding nothing.
How Deputies Respond to a School Bomb Threat
How Deputies Respond to a School Bomb Threat K-9 teams may be involved in school bomb-threat responses. Deputies searched the school premises after the threat came in.
Whoever made the call could face serious legal consequences. Under Florida Statute § 790.163, making a false report concerning the placing or planting of a bomb or explosive is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and mandatory restitution for law enforcement mobilization costs, according to the Florida Legislature. The law applies whether the communication is made verbally, in writing, or electronically, and it explicitly bars judges from withholding adjudication for a conviction — meaning an adult or juvenile offender would receive a permanent felony record unless they provide substantial assistance to prosecutors, per the Florida Senate's own description of the statute.
Part of a Wider Pattern Targeting Jewish Institutions
Florida has also moved to standardize penalties across threat types. Lawmakers updated state false-reporting statutes under Senate Bill 436 in 2016 to treat false reports concerning firearm violence with the same second-degree felony classification as false bomb threats, legislation that passed both houses unanimously.
Monday's incident came amid heightened global tensions following the October 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
WPBF reported that deputies wrapped up their investigation at about 7:30 p.m. and found nothing suspicious, while the Levis JCC said the situation was fully resolved.
