(Hill) Reported hate crimes have surged since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers Tuesday, saying the bulk of the cases targeted Jews.
“We’ve been opening I think 60 percent more hate crimes investigations post-Oct. 7, [than] compared to the comparable period pre-Oct. 7,” Wray said during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, referring to when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel.
“And that’s on top of that already escalating increase that I mentioned,” he said, after noting hate crimes reached a high in 2022.
The FBI director said “the biggest chunk of those are threats against the Jewish community, but there are of course attacks … against others as well,” pointing to attacks against Muslim targets.
