ICYMI: SCN Hosts FBI Director Wray Ahead of Passover
In anticipation of the Passover Holiday, last week, SCN and national partners welcomed FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide an update, along with key security and safety professionals, on the threat environment facing the Jewish community in the wake of October 7th and in the midst of escalating Iranian hostilities that threaten the Jewish diaspora worldwide. SCN continues to recommend that organizations remain open absent specific, actionable information provided by public safety and law enforcement partners. SCN National Director & CEO Michael Masters’ op-ed in the Jerusalem Post this past week details what you need to know to have a safe, secure, and happy Pesach.
We’ve Never Faced A Threat Like This: We Need To Act Now – Opinion
The American Jewish community is facing the most threatening environment in our nation’s history. The likelihood of an attack on our soil targeting the Jewish community has never been higher. Recently, the director of the FBI noted that the “board is blinking red,” in reference to a potential attack on US soil. The board is indeed blinking red – and fast.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the world has witnessed an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. Following an airstrike that struck Iranian military leaders in Syria earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed, “The Zionist regime will be punished by the hands of our brave men. We will make it regret this crime and others it has committed.” Additionally, his political adviser issued a statement holding the United States “directly responsible whether or not it was aware of the intention to carry out this attack.”
And now, Iran and its proxies have launched a series of attacks on Israel, including rockets from Gaza and Lebanon, a cyberattack, and waves of drone and missile strikes originating from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere in the region.
Make no mistake: The enemies of Israel and of America have not paused in their efforts to kill or attack. They have seen recent events as an opportunity to push their agenda of hate and violence.
Incident reporting is a significant piece of developing a security shield around our community. Communicating and coordinating with law enforcement will help keep our community safe. Last year, our partners at the ADL recorded a record 3,697 antisemitic incidents; SCN reported a record 1,619 persons of interest to law enforcement.
Ensure your congregation has a comprehensive security plan. If you don’t know, ask your leadership. Connect with the security professionals who serve your community. The plan must bolster physical security, improve relationships with local law enforcement, and include security training for everyone. This is vital to keeping us and our children safe.
Get trained. Training is crucial to preparing for attacks and learning how to survive them. Last year, SCN trained over 58,000 members of the community. Survivors of the Tree of Life attack and the Colleyville hostage-taking both credit their survival to the strategies and techniques learned from being trained. This training can be provided by SCN and national partner organizations working on antisemitism, public safety issues, and Jewish life.
These steps all work to enhance the safety of our community. We have a choice: to let fear win by putting our heads in the sand and hiding our identity or to confront those who would wish for us to fall away. We need to make clear that we are not going anywhere. Our preparedness is in our hands. We need to act now.
U.S. Cities Ramp Up Security Ahead Of Passover
Millions of Jewish people around the world will observe Passover starting on Monday. But this year, with the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, there are additional concerns about staying safe during the holiday. CBS News homeland security and justice reporter Nicole Sganga explains how cities are handling security concerns.
FBI On Alert For Threats To The Jewish Community Ahead Of Passover, Director Says
Federal law enforcement is on alert for any potential threats to the US Jewish community ahead of the start of the Passover holiday, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a group of nationwide security officials Wednesday.
“We at the bureau remain particularly concerned that lone actors could target large gatherings, high profile events, or symbolic or religious locations for violence – particularly a concern, of course, as we look to the start of Passover on Monday evening,” Wray said.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Secure Community Network, a Jewish community nonprofit safety and training organization, Wray said threats to the US Jewish community had already been elevated before Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, but the number of FBI hate crime cases tripled in the wake of the incident.
“Between October 7 and January 30 of this year, we opened over three times more anti-Jewish hate crime investigations than in the four months before October 7,” said Wray, who noted raw statistics about investigations represent “very real threats to your institutions, to your houses of worship, to your schools and university organizations, and to the individuals in your communities simply for being who you are.”
FBI Watching For Threats To Jewish Americans Ahead Of Passover, Wray Says
The FBI is monitoring for threats against Jewish Americans ahead of the Passover holiday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, adding that the number was already high before Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
Wray mentioned the FBI’s work in investigating anti-Jewish hate crimes while speaking at an event Wednesday hosted by the Secure Community Network, the largest Jewish security organization on the continent.
“Today, we at the bureau remain particularly concerned that lone actors could target large gatherings, high-profile events, or symbolic or religious locations for violence — particularly a concern, of course, as we look to the start of Passover on Monday evening,” he said.
Wray said the FBI’s anti-Jewish hate crime probes tripled in the three months following Oct. 7 compared with the four months before.
“Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 30 of this year, we opened over three times more anti-Jewish hate crime investigations than in the four months before Oct. 7,” Wray said. “And of course, that’s on top of what was already an increase from the previous year.”
Wray said the threats are not only present domestically but overseas as well.
“We’ve seen — since Oct. 7 – a rogues’ gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against the United States and our allies,” he said while also pointing to increased hoax threats like “bomb and active shooter threats.”
FBI Investigations Of Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes Tripled After Oct. 7, Director Says
The number of FBI investigations into anti-Jewish hate crimes tripled in the months after Oct. 7, FBI director Christopher Wray told Jewish leaders on a call Wednesday.
Wray also warned that, amid the Israel-Iran conflict, Iranian proxies could attack targets on American soil. “For just a few days after the Oct. 7 attack, we’d already seen a rapid uptick in threats to Jewish people in the United States,” Wray said a call with Jewish community security officials and lay leaders.“Since then, we’ve seen the threat elevated,” he added. “So to be more specific, between Oct. 7 and Jan. 30 of this year, we opened over three times more anti Jewish hate crime investigations than in the four months before Oct. 7.”
Wray did not say there was any indication that Iran would directly attack the U.S. Jewish community. Michael Masters, the director of the Secure Community Network, the Jewish security agency that organized the call, also said there were no known specific threats on the community. “We are not aware at this time of any direct known threat to the Jewish community or any of our institutions domestically,” he said.
Wray said Iran has previously tried to execute attacks in the United States.
“Back just over the past few years, Iran has brazenly planned or attempted several assassinations of former U.S. officials, U.S. journalists here on U.S. soil,” he said, apparently referring to active threats against John Bolton, the former National Security Adviser, and Masih Alinejad, a journalist who has been critical of the country. “A lot of Iranians actions have been motivated by a desire to retaliate.”
Wray added the Iranian threat to others potentially targeting U.S. Jews, including “lone wolves,” violent individuals motivated by hate speech doctrines, and specific threats by foreign terrorist groups, including ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He said the FBI is “increasingly concerned” about terror attacks following the recent attack by a branch of ISIS on a Russian concert hall.
Masters in an interview after the call described the threat following the Iran attack as “escalated.”
“We have been and we remain concerned with the threat from Iran and its proxies, particularly post-April 13,” he said. “And you know, this is on top of an already elevated threatened environment. This is, as the director clearly pointed out, a rogues’ gallery. Unfortunately, the rogues’ gallery is united in their desire to undermine if not end or attack the Jewish community. So it really is a time of escalated threat.”
He warned communities not to engage with protesters. “The best way to avoid a confrontation is not to enter one,” he said.
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