'We Stand By Jewish Friends:' Essex County Towns Lend Support After Threat; Suspect Caught

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Officials in various Essex County towns sent messages of support to the Jewish community this week after the FBI issued a warning saying there was "credible" information about a "broad threat" to synagogues in New Jersey — a warning that came amid the recent amplification of anti-Semitic language and incidents in the U.S.

Officials said Friday that a suspect had been captured, describing him as a lone "extremist." But this latest incident has been part of a rise in antisemitism in recent years, say watchdog groups.

Antisemitic Murders

Anti-Semitic mass murders have occurred in New Jersey in the last few years. Three years ago, a mother of three, a police officer, and other victims were murdered in Jersey City in an antisemitic attack in December 2019.

This past week, a Livingston synagogue commemorated Krystallnacht, a two-day period in which Nazi rhetoric gave way to a wave of violence. From Nov. 9-10, 1938, Jewish people were eaten and synagogues were attacked in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland, making it clear that verbal attacks on Jewish people were not just idle threats, as some in the U.S. had believed in the 1930s.

Essex County Response This Week

This past week, Maplewood's mayor and police officials sent a message saying, in part, "We stand with our Jewish friends and neighbors, call out antisemitism everywhere as abhorrent, and will do whatever we can to protect our houses of worship in SOMA."

In Millburn, police said they were taking "extra precautions."

Police reminded residents to call 911 or their local police if they saw something suspicious.

The FBI's Newark Office had posted the warning shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday.

It said: "The FBI has received credible information of a broad threat to synagogues in NJ. 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. In case of emergency call police."

They added, "We are taking a proactive measure with this warning while investigative processes are carried out."