FBI is on high alert ahead of Passover, director says

The FBI has opened over three times more anti-Jewish hate crime investigations from October 7, 2023 through January 30, 2024 than in the four months before October 7,

Director Christopher Wray said during a webinar Wednesday on Passover preparedness and security with the Secure Community Network (SCN).

This spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes since October 7 comes on the heels of a year where 63% of religiously motivated hate crimes in the US were fueled by antisemitism, Wray said. 

"That’s almost two thirds of all religious hate crimes, arguably a group that makes up just 2.4% of the population,” Wray said. “And as all of you know far too well, that statistic represents very real violence and very real threats to your institutions, to your houses to worship, to your schools, universities, organizations and the individuals in your communities simply for being who you are.”

FBI concerned over lone actors 

The FBI has also seen a marked increase in hoaxes of both bomb and active shooter threats toward synagogues, Jewish community centers and other affiliated facilities.

The bureau remains particularly concerned about lone actors that could target gatherings, high profile events, or symbolic or religious locations with violence – including the start of Passover on Monday evening.

Michael Masters, National Director and CEO of SCN, said there are no known credible threats targeting Jewish institutions at this time.

Wray said that in addition to threats posed by homegrown violent extremists and other lone actors motivated by hate since October 7, a rogue gallery of foreign terrorist organizations offer attacks against the UN and its allies.

According to the FBI head, al Qaeda issued its most specific call to attack the US in the last five years as has its affiliates AQAP in the Arabian Peninsula. ISIS urged followers to target Jewish communities in both the US and Europe, something Wray said the bureau is increasingly concerned about following the world jihadist group’s attack in Moscow last month.

Wray added that the threat posed by Iran itself is also very real.

“As I look back over my career in law enforcement, I’m hard pressed to think of a time where so many different threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at the same time,” he said.

Wray said the FBI is closely tracking these very real threats that have Jewish communities on edge and is hitting back at the perpetrators “full force.”

“I’m not providing these updates in any way to alarm you, because this is not a time for panic,” he said, “but it is a time for continued vigilance.”