Testifies before Congress during investigation into ‘hate crimes’ including murder of 6-year-old Muslim child
Senator Hassan: “Jewish residents are also afraid to go to places of worship”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a Senate hearing on the 31st (local time) that the possibility of an increase in hate crimes in the United States has increased after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel, and that “several foreign extremist armed groups have already been active in the past few weeks.” “They are instigating attacks against Americans and citizens of Western countries,” he warned.
Director Ray said, “Just as the Islamic extremist armed group IS did several years ago, we believe that this Hamas attack has instilled new inspiration and will to attack terrorists.”
At a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Director Wray stated that he had a feeling that something similar could happen after Hamas attacked Israeli troops and civilians on October 7.
The reason he mentioned IS is because the FBI has been struggling to prevent the massive similar violence that followed IS’s declaration of jihad war and the subsequent violence. Therefore, the FBI is concerned that the current Middle East war could lead to similarly dangerous provocations.
Although no “organized terrorist threat” has yet been tracked in the United States, investigators worry that attacks by individuals or small groups could occur at any time. It is similar to the extreme level of IS crimes in Syria and Iraq 10 years ago.
“These are extremely dangerous times,” said Director Wray. “That doesn’t mean we can’t stop going out, but we must always be vigilant,” he said.
In his remarks that day, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also reported that security had been strengthened and manpower deployment had been increased in preparation for the recent increase in threats to Jewish, Muslim, and Arab American areas across the country following the Hamas attack on October 7.
“Hate crimes against Jewish students, residential areas, and various facilities and institutions will further raise and strengthen the level of anti-Jewish sentiment that is already widespread in the United States and around the world,” he said.
In relation to this, Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan recently said that Jewish leaders in her home state of New Hampshire are afraid to even go to synagogue services on weekends.
Florida Senator Rick Scott (Republican) also said, “In Florida, people are expressing similar fears, worrying that they might be murdered.”
FBI Director Wray said those fears were backed up by statistics. Even though the Jewish population is only 2.4% of the entire U.S. population, 60% of all hate crimes occur for religious reasons.
He said such was the case with the recent stabbing murder of a 6-year-old Muslim child by a white homeowner in his 70s, which is being investigated by the FBI. Friends of the dead child and the injured mother say they have been singled out for killing since the Hamas-Israel war began purely because they are Muslims.
[워싱턴= AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.