NJ Police Arrest Teen who Threatened NJ Shuls Last Shabbos

 By Yehudit Garmaise

The teen whose anti-Semitic social media posts were so alarming that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Newark, NJ, issued a security warning to all New Jersey shuls on Nov. 3, was arrested this morning.

Omar Alkattoul, 18, of Sayreville, NJ, was charged with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce, which is a crime that is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Aklattoul, who did not threaten any shuls in NYC, is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court.

The FBI issued its warning after reading an anti-Semitic manifesto that threatened Jews in NJ.

Entitled, “When Swords Collide,” which Aklattoul posted social media on Nov. 1, wrote the arrested teen who was found to have guns in his home, according to a Jewish security volunteer.

 “I am the attacker, and I would like to introduce myself. I am a Muslim with so many regrets, but I can assure you this attack is not one of them.

Aklattoul nonsensically explained he “targeted a synagogue for a really good reason according to myself and a lot of Muslims who have a brain.

Aklattoul, whom abcny reported was autistic, also sadly claimed said, “The motive of this attack is hatred towards Jews and their heinous acts.”

Although now Aklattoul’s threats have passed, interest in last week’s security alert has likely waned, but on COLLive, Zalman Myer-Smith, the director of Florida’s Chabad Security Department, pointed out that shul members should consider what they can learn from the FBI’s warnings before last Shabbos.

The volunteers, who undergo training on how to recognize security threats, and basic personal defense, are valuable and cost-effective, Myer-Smith writes.

Photo Credit: Flickr