CNN —Federal law enforcement is on alert for any potential threats to the US Jewish community ahead of the start of the Passover holiday, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a group of nationwide security officials Wednesday. Speaking at an event hosted by the Secure Community Network, a Jewish community nonprofit safety and training organization, Wray said threats to the US Jewish community had already been elevated before Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, but the number of FBI hate crime cases tripled in the wake of the incident. The Jewish civil rights advocacy group tracked 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2023 – the highest number of incidents reported since the organization began tracking data in 1979. “We’ve seen – since October 7 – a rogues’ gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against the United States and our allies,” said Wray, including calls by global terrorist groups “to target Jewish communities both in the United States and Europe.”In addressing Jewish community security officials, Wray also called out state-sponsored threats. “After the last few days, in particular, the threat posed by Iran itself is very real,” he said.

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Persons: Christopher Wray, “, –, ” Wray, Wray, ”, Michael Masters, “ We’ve, CNN’s Jack Forrest, Nicole Chavez Organizations: CNN, Secure Community Network, Defamation League, ” Locations: Israel, United States, Europe, Iran, Syria, “