FBI warns of rising threats to Jewish communities after string of deadly attacks

Recent attacks over the past few months against Jews have moved beyond vandalism and intimidation to deadly violence, prompting urgent action from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

By Jewish Breaking News

Federal law enforcement officials have issued an unprecedented public safety warning about escalating threats to Jewish communities nationwide.

“The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict may motivate other violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators with similar grievances to conduct violence against Jewish and Israeli communities and their supporters,” the FBI’s warning reads.

“The FBI and DHS therefore urge the public to remain vigilant and to report any threats of violence or suspicious activity to law enforcement.”

According to a February ADL 2025 report, despite Jews comprising only 2.5% of the U.S. population, they were targeted in 68% of all religion-based hate crimes and 15% of total hate crimes last year.

Disturbingly, 33% of American Jews said they have been personally targeted by antisemitism, while 56% altered their behavior out of fear – up from 46% in 2023 and 38% in 2022.

Recent attacks over the past few months against Jews have moved beyond vandalism and intimidation to deadly violence, prompting urgent action from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

On June 1, Mohamed Soliman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a peaceful march for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, injuring 12 people ranging in age from 52 to 88.

Among the victims was an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who suffered severe burns. Investigators found 16 unused Molotov cocktails at the scene, along with a journal detailing his plans.

Soliman was born in Egypt and lived in Kuwait for 17 years before moving to Colorado. He entered the United States in August 2022 on a tourist visa but remained illegally after it expired.

Federal agents said Soliman told police after his arrest that he planned his attack for a year, would do it again if he could, and “wished they all were dead.”

Just over a week before the Boulder attack, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez shot and killed two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

Victims Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were about to get engaged, with Lischinsky having purchased a ring that week and planning to propose during a trip to Jerusalem.

After the shooting, Rodriguez walked into the museum where attendees offered him water and comfort, believing him to be a victim. After spending about 15 minutes inside, he asked someone to call police and confessed.

Upon his arrest, he told an officer, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”

An FBI affidavit reveals that Rodriguez flew from Chicago to Washington the day before the attack with a declared firearm in his checked luggage and bought a ticket to the museum event only three hours before it started.

In April, 38-year-old Cody Balmer firebombed Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s official residence because of “what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

Less than an hour after setting the fire, Balmer called 911 and said, “Gov. Josh Shapiro needs to know that Cody Balmer will not take part in his plan for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

After turning himself in, Balmer told police he would have attacked Shapiro with a hammer if he had encountered the governor inside the residence.

Shapiro, who is Jewish, and his family were sleeping inside after hosting a Passover seder when the attack occurred.

Federal officials emphasize that “foreign terrorist organizations also may try to exploit narratives related to the conflict to inspire attacks in the United States,” and also warned that “some individuals online are sharing the manifesto of the alleged Capital Jewish Museum attacker, praising their actions, and calling for additional violence.”