19-year-old Israeli man arrested over threats to U.S. Jewish community centers

Israeli police arrested a 19-year-old Israeli-American dual citizen Thursday on the belief that he is responsible for a wave of threats made to Jewish community centers and institutions in the U.S. over the past several months, The Washington Post reports. Earlier, the FBI arrested journalist Juan Thompson for at least eight threats against Jewish centers, but the threats continued even after Thompson was discovered.

Israeli cyberattack police worked with the FBI to track down the suspect. The 19-year-old is allegedly responsible for a bulk of the threats, including possibly the evacuations of dozens of Jewish daycares, schools, and workplaces. The suspect is also believed to be responsible for threatening a Delta Airlines flight, resulting in the plane executing an emergency landing.

"The investigation began in several countries simultaneously after dozens of threatening calls were received at public places, events, synagogues, and community buildings that caused panic and disrupted events and activities in various organizations," Israeli police said.

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