FBI monitoring anti-Jewish threats ahead of Passover, Wray tells security group

A heightened security alert — but no “direct, known threats” — overshadows preparations for next week’s Passover observation by America’s Jewish community, security leaders said Wednesday.

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told a videoconference organized by the Secure Community Network the agency has “opened over three times more anti-Jewish hate crimes investigations” in the four months after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel than in the four months prior.

The Secure Community Network is a private organization that monitors security issues at synagogues, schools, and Jewish institutions nationwide. It also supports Jewish organizations with training and information on dealing with potential threats.

The FBI remains “particularly concerned” that lone actors could target Jewish people, he said, particularly with the Monday evening start to Passover, Mr. Wray said. 

Passover is an annual eight-day observance of the exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt around 1440 B.C.

Also, the FBI chief said there was a “marked increase in hoaxes, both bomb and active shooter threats,” against Jewish sites since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Such incidents — often called “swatting” attacks because police Special Weapons and Tactics units are deployed in response — “not only disrupt whatever activities are ongoing, they also intimidate people and terrorize entire communities and they stretch local law enforcement resources, straining law enforcers’ ability to respond to other threats,” Mr. Wray said.

The FBI head said the agency has 4,500 agents specifically working on counterterrorism and has increased the number of people specifically committed to investigating hate crimes.

Mr. Wray said the FBI is also aware of Iran’s threats against Israel and the U.S. — threats he called “very” real.

“Just over the past few years, Iran has brazenly planned or attempted several assassinations of former U.S. officials here on U.S. soil, and the bureau has been active in flushing out those plots, disrupting them and holding potential perpetrators accountable,” he said.

Mr. Wray lauded SCN’s actions in reporting threats against the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia last week and said the agency is “using every tool at our disposal to track down the individual who mailed the letter” and ensure they can’t carry out their threat.

Michael Masters, CEO and national director of the Secure Community Network, said Jewish communities across the country need to be aware of security risks, but should remain open “unless they are provided direct, actionable information by law enforcement and public safety partners concerning a specific credible threat.”

Jewish facilities should have a “designated liaison” with local law enforcement, notify officials of any issues or concerns and ensure lockdown procedures are in place should protests arise, he said.