Violence may inspire attacks in US, FBI director testifies
Agents tracking uptick in threats on Jews, Arabs
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told US lawmakers Tuesday that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war could inspire violence in the United States, a warning that comes as agents are tracking an increase in threats to Jewish, Muslim, and Arab people in this country.
“This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance,” Wray told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at a hearing about threats to the nation that also included testimony from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Lawmakers peppered Wray with questions about what his agents were doing following the Oct. 7 multipronged attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and military outposts, and the subsequent Israeli strikes in Gaza. He said the FBI has ramped up efforts to share intelligence with local law enforcement.
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago,” Wray said, noting that in recent weeks, foreign terrorist groups have called for attacks against Americans and the West.
A key area of concern is socalled lone wolf suspects who are not part of any organization but may be inspired to lash out in reaction to the conflict. Wray added that the FBI has multiple active investigations into individuals associated with Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and others.
“We have kept our sights on Hamas,” Wray said.
Historically, hate crimes have tended to be underreported, and Wray said some of the increase in threats logged in recent weeks is due to more people contacting authorities when they see or hear something alarming: “The American people are reporting more tips to us.”
The director noted that one particularly disturbing element of the threats made against Jewish people is that many types of extremists, from the far left to the far right, exhibit strains of antisemitism. While Jewish people make up about 2.4 percent of the US population, threats to Jewish people account for roughly 60 percent of religionbased hate crimes.
In other testimony before the Senate, the nation’s top military and diplomatic leaders urged an increasingly divided Congress to send immediate aid to Israel and Ukraine, arguing that broad support for the assistance would signal US strength to adversaries.
The testimony from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Senate Appropriations Committee came as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in the two countries encountered roadblocks.
While there is bipartisan support in the Democratic-led Senate, the request faces deep problems in the Republican-led House. New Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed focusing on Israel alone, and slashing money for the IRS to pay for it.
As the congressional divisions deepen, Blinken and Austin warned that the consequences of failing to help Ukraine in its war with Russia and Israel as it strikes back against Hamas would be dire.
Inaction, they said, would threaten the security of the United States and the rest of the world.