UPDATED: 03 NOV 2022 07:48 PM EST
The FBI has “received credible information of a broad threat to synagogues” in New Jersey, according to a tweet from the agency's Newark office Thursday.
“We ask at this time that you take all security precautions to protect your community and facility. We will share more information as soon as we can. Stay alert," the office tweeted. "In case of emergency call police. ... The FBI takes all threats seriously and we are working with our law enforcement partners actively investigating this threat. We are also engaged with our faith based partners in the affected community.
“We are taking a proactive measure with this warning while investigative processes are carried out,” the office tweeted.
The FBI did not release details on the nature of the threat.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement that law enforcement across New Jersey will be increasing patrols in "sensitive areas ... in an abundance of caution."
Some patrols will be in marked vehicles and others will not, Platkin said.
“We continue to work together to keep New Jersey safe, and let those who would bring harm to the residents of this State know that New Jersey will not be home to hate, intolerance or violence," Platkin said, adding that any suspicious activity should be reported to local law enforcement.
Gov. Phil Murphy said he has been in touch with the state Attorney General’s Office, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the FBI.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are working with local law enforcement to ensure that all houses of worship are protected,” Murphy tweeted.
In a statement Thursday evening, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said he would be meeting with law enforcement officials and rabbis from across his North Jersey district.
“To those who made these antisemitic terroristic threats: We will not cower. We will not back down,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “In the greatest country in the world, religious freedom will win and antisemitism and hate will lose.”
Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in recent years, hitting an all-time high in 2021, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League.
A study released in April by the ADL reported the overall number of antisemitic incidents in New Jersey rose by 25 percent last year, reaching 370. The total is the most ever recorded in New Jersey since the ADL began tracking such incidents in 1979.
