Editor’s note: Ruth Ellen Gruber is the Distinguished Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies at the College of Charleston, and the author of Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely hers.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) — Thirty years or so ago, the synagogue in Washington DC where I was attending Yom Kippur services received a bomb threat. As we evacuated the building, I was concerned that people didn’t seem to be taking it seriously.

Read more of the CNN story.