- The FBI said on Friday that New Jersey synagogues are no longer in immediate danger.
- This update comes after the agency warned of a "broad threat" against the houses of worship.
New Jersey synagogues are no longer in immediate danger after the FBI said agents found the source of a threat that had prompted Jewish houses of worship to increase their security.
"Upon receipt of threat information against an unspecified New Jersey area synagogue, the FBI notified community leaders and our law enforcement partners," the FBI's Newark division said in a statement Friday morning local time. "We identified the source of the threat who no longer poses a danger to the community."
"As always, we would like to remind the public, to remain vigilant and if they observe suspicious activity to report it to law enforcement immediately," the statement continued.
A spokesperson for the FBI's Newark division told Insider that there was no additional information available, and did not identify a specific threat or suspect.
—FBI Newark (@FBINewark) November 4, 2022
The FBI on Thursday afternoon said it had "received credible information of a broad threat to synagogues" in New Jersey, adding that it was taking a "proactive measure" by issuing a warning while it investigated the situation.
Daniel Cohen, a rabbi at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, New Jersey, later told Insider that local police stepped up security at synagogues in his area in response to the warning.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on social media that he was grateful to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies "for their tireless efforts in mitigating the immediate threat to our Jewish synagogues."
"While this specific threat may be mitigated, we know this remains a tense time for our Jewish communities who are facing a wave of anti-Semitic activity," he continued.
Thursday's threat against the New Jersey synagogues comes amid rising antisemitism in the US. According to the Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish non-governmental organization, 2021 saw the highest number of antisemitic incidents since the group started tracking them in 1979. These 2,717 incidents included assault, vandalism, and harassment.
"At this time we advise the community remain vigilant given that an investigation is still ongoing, but no heightened state of alert is required," the ADL said in a Friday statement.