SAN ANTONIO — The Israel-Hamas war is sparking safety concerns in the U.S. with the FBI warning that in tense times like these extremists may target both Jewish and Muslim Americans.
In San Antonio, police officers are increasing patrols at religious schools and places of worship.
“What we heard from the [Hamas attack] Saturday is that this is the worst killing of Jewish people since the Holocaust in one day,” said Lisa Epstein, with the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. “Honestly, that just retraumatizes us.”
Epstein says the local Jewish community is not only mourning; people are on edge.
“Seeing the added antisemitism online or people who are supporting Hamas – the terrorists – is so hurtful and so hateful,” Epstein said.
While Jews only make up about 2% of the U.S. population, they were the top target of religious hate crimes last year. FBI data shows 51.4% of the incidents were anti-Semitic, and 9.6% were anti-Islamic.
“We are concerned about a rise in antisemitism beyond those numbers,” Epstein said.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar says he put out a notice to deputies on Thursday.
“We don’t have any direct threats to San Antonio that I am aware of at this point,” said Salazar. “But with that being said, we have seen instances happen in the nation and the world that there’s no warning whatsoever.”
According to the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), a former Hamas leader is calling for a 'Global Day of Jihad' on Friday. An SAPD spokesperson says the department is working with local, state and federal partners to monitor the situation. At this time, there are no credible threats to the community, SAPD says.
The Jewish Federation of San Antonio says unity is needed more than ever.
“The victims were from all different religions and backgrounds,” said Epstein. “Israel is a multi-cultural, multi-faith, international nation. Christians, Muslims and Jews are all victims right now. They are victims of terror.”
This week, the FBI put out the following public service announcement:
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are issuing this notification to advise of an ongoing issue of potential public safety concern consequent to the Hamas attacks in Israel.
While we continue to collect and analyze intelligence from a variety of sources, we do not currently have specific intelligence reflecting additional attack planning against the United States stemming from the HAMAS attacks in Israel which began on October 7, 2023. However, foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters remain committed to attacking the United States within and beyond our borders. In recent years, there have been several events and incidents in the United States that were purportedly motivated, at least in part, by the conflict between Israel and HAMAS. These have included the targeting of individuals, houses of worship, and institutions associated with the Jewish and Muslim faiths with acts of physical assault, vandalism, or harassment.
Anti-Semitism permeates many violent extremist ideologies and serves as a primary driver for attacks by a diverse set of violent extremists who pose a persistent threat to Jewish communities and institutions in the United States and abroad. Foreign terrorist organizations have exploited previous conflicts between Israel and HAMAS via media outlets and online communications to call on their supporters located in the United States to conduct attacks. Some violent extremists have used times of heightened tensions to incite violence against religious minorities, targeting both Jewish and Muslim Americans.”