California woman sentenced for antisemitic, threatening messages
Targeted former director of Tree of Life
Joel Goldstein’s nearly five-and-a-half-year ordeal is over.
Goldstein is a former director of Tree of Life *Or L’Simcha Congregation who resigned a few months before the Oct. 27, 2018, shooting at the building. He was still mourning the tragedy when he began receiving antisemitic messages on his phone from Melanie Harris of Riverside, California.
Harris’ messages began as antisemitic then became increasingly more threatening and often mentioned Goldstein’s adult child J.E. Reich, Goldstein told the Chronicle in March.
When Goldstein and his wife, Linda Myers, moved to Florida, they contacted the Anti-Defamation League’s Southern Division about the calls and were told that the messages rose to the level of threats. ADL officials contacted the FBI.
Harris was arrested and pled guilty in March to “knowingly and intentionally transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.”
Last week, Harris received a sentence of 32 months in federal prison.
Myers credited the ADL for its help.
“None of this would have happened if the ADL hadn’t noticed and elevated the component of the legal implications of the threats,” she said in a prepared statement. “We pursued this because it’s vital to demonstrate the need to report incidents when they happen.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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