‘Historic Levels’ – America facing massive spike in antisemitism, warns FBI director

‘Be vigilant,’ urges FBI Director Christopher Wray, reporting on ‘historic levels’ of antisemitic incidents.

By Susan Tawil, World Israel News

A new study conducted by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency found a 500% increase antisemitic incidents around the world since the October 7th Hamas attack in Israel.

“The current levels of anti-Semitism are unparalleled in the past decade,” said a WZO official.

Coinciding with this unprecedented global uptick in Jew-hatred, FBI Director Christopher Wray reported “historic levels” of antisemitism in the US as well.

In testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee on Tuesday, Wray noted that, although Jews comprise only about 2% of the U.S. population, over 60% of religious hate crimes target Jews.

Since the Hamas assault on Israel last month, there has been a reported 21% jump in antisemitic incidents in the U.S.

Over 1,400 Israelis were killed and many thousands more were wounded in the October 7th Hamas invasion, with an estimated 240 kidnapped.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli residents were evacuated from their homes for safety, as Hamas continues to rain thousands of missiles at Israel’s civilian population throughout the country.

Wray warned that the grisly Hamas massacres have inspired antisemites in America, noting that the American Jewish community is targeted by a variety of terrorist sources including “homegrown violent extremists; foreign terrorist organizations, both Sunni and Shia (Muslim); domestic violent extremists.”

However, Wray added, the FBI anticipates most of the attacks will come from “lone actors.”

On Monday, the Biden administration promised a plan to address the “grotesque” antisemitism on college campuses.

Even Ivy League universities have been host to an explosion of rowdy “Pro-Palestinian” rallies and protests, often resulting in violence or threats against Jewish students. Vulgar, threating social media posts are circulating, calling for violent attacks on Jews.

Jewish institutions across the U.S., including yeshivot (Jewish parochial schools), synagogues, and community centers, have added increased security measures in response to the threat.

“This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance,” Wray said during the Homeland Security hearing. “We shouldn’t stop conducting our daily lives — going to schools, houses of worship, and so forth — but we should be vigilant.”

AntisemitismChristopher WrayFBI