Philadelphia Man Who Made Antisemitic and Islamophobic Threats Sentenced to 16 Months in Prison

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Yaniv Gola, 51, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Kai N. Scott to 16 months' incarceration followed by three years of supervised release for interstate communication of threats.

In February of this year, Gola was charged by information with using a Voice Over Internet Protocol service to mask his phone number and make telephone calls threatening to injure, rape, and kill eight different victims between August 2, 2022, and November 5, 2023. He pleaded guilty to the eight counts against him on February 14.

On one of these calls, Gola threatened, "You f***ing Jew, now I know where you are. I'm going to kill all you Jews … You all should be shoved back into ovens. I'm going down to [victim's business location] to kill you." On another call, Gola said to a victim, "I want to put a bullet in your head … You f***ing Muslims." In the most recent call, Gola threatened a victim, "You're Jewish, I'm from Hamas. You're animals and pigs … If you don't leave that place, we're going to blow you up."

"Yaniv Gola made hundreds of these calls and texts, terrorizing his victims with incredibly vile, violent threats," said U.S. Attorney Romero. "He learned where they lived and worked, deploying those details just to heighten their fear. My office and the FBI will continue to hold accountable anyone making such cruel and criminal threats."

"The details of this case serve as an alarming reminder of threats members of our community face because of their beliefs," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office. "We thank our law enforcement partners who work alongside us every day as we work to ensure the safety and security of our communities. Let today's sentence serve as a reminder that the FBI will continue to diligently pursue those who make violent threats against those we are charged to protect."

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Jeanette Kang. The FBI was assisted by the Philadelphia Police Department, the Media Borough Police Department, the Cinnaminson Township (N.J.) Police Department, the Newtown Township (Delaware County) Police Department, and the Haddonfield (N.J.) Police Department.