BOSTON – Police in New York, Los Angeles, and different U.S. cities larger patrols, government post fencing across the U.S. Capitol and a few colleges closed Friday amid fears of violence impressed via the Israel-Hamas war. But cops stressed out there have been no credible threats within the U.S.
A former Hamas chief’s call for a day of rage put American Jewish communities on edge, and sparked heightened security round properties of worship, colleges and cultural establishments. The jitters had been an indication of simply how a lot the war between Israel and Hamas is reverberating all over the world, placing concern in communities even within the absence of a credible danger.
Law enforcement officers mentioned they had been on top alert for violence pushed via antisemitic or Islamophobic sentiments within the wake of the Hamas assault on Israel. Jewish and Muslim teams have reported an building up of hateful and dangerous rhetoric on social media.
“We cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or and other foreign terrorist organizations could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks here on our own soil,” FBI Director Christopher Wray advised Jewish neighborhood leaders at a security briefing on Thursday.
Ashley Reyes, 40, who’s Jewish and lives in Montclair, New Jersey, mentioned the escalating warfare has made her really feel much less protected and has sparked worries for her 10-year-old son.
“This is the first time in my life that I have actively thought of saying to my son, ‘If someone asks you if you’re Jewish or if your mom’s Jewish, you say no,’” Reyes mentioned.
At the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey, Executive Director Rania Mustafa mentioned there was an building up in harassing telephone calls, emails and messages on social media. Mustafa mentioned the gang has closed its doorways and is handiest letting in folks they know or who establish themselves.
“It’s been a very stressful week in all regards, from one end trying to convince the world that we’re human and that our lives are as sacred as anyone else’s lives and on the other end, trying to protect our own from being targeted. And protecting freedom of speech, of expressing opinions and solidarity with the Palestinian people,” she said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters Thursday that police would do extra patrols in some city neighborhoods and send additional resources to schools and houses of worship. There has been a large police presence at protests, rallies and vigils in the city over the past week. Some synagogues have also said they would have private security guards.
Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stressed that law enforcement wasn’t aware of any credible threats against the state or the city.
“We want to reiterate to New Yorkers: There’s no reason to feel afraid. No one should feel they have to alter their normal lives or their routines; and indeed when we change our behavior without a serious credible threat, then we’re letting the terrorists win,” Hochul mentioned.
“I want all New Yorkers to feel confident going to a synagogue, going to school, walking in the streets of New York and throughout our state.”
Meanwhile, a New York City councilmember was arrested Friday for bringing a handgun to a scholar demonstration supporting Palestinians.
Inna Vernikov, a Republican who is Jewish, has been among the most outspoken opponents of Palestinian activists, describing the protesters as “terrorists” while accusing them of making Jewish students feel unsafe. She was seen in photos and videos with the butt of a pistol jutting from her waistband. Vernikov did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment and messages left at her offices were not returned.
New York City’s public college gadget has noticed a wave of dueling protests in fresh days following the Hamas assault on Israel and escalating war in Gaza.
Columbia University halted public access to its Manhattan campus Thursday in advance of a planned demonstration by pro-Palestinian activists and a rival pro-Israel group, saying only students, faculty and credentialed journalists would be allowed in. The demonstrations wound up being peaceful.
In Washington, crews were seen putting metal barriers outside the Capitol Thursday evening. A Capitol police spokesperson said in an email they were “not taking any chances” even though there are no specific threats.
Las Vegas’ Innovations International Charter School, which has a campus positioned in a former Jewish temple, mentioned Friday they had been canceling categories out of an “abundance of caution.” Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, also closed its campuses, telling parents in an email that there was no specific threat to the school, but it, too, was acting out of “an abundance of caution.”
Los Angeles, police mentioned they had been achieving out to Jewish and Muslim communities and offering additional patrols. Police in Westchester County, New York, additionally mentioned they had been expanding patrols round colleges and Jewish properties of worship on Friday. In Boston, police because the starting of the warfare have larger their uniformed presence round non secular and cultural establishments, a spokesperson mentioned Friday.
The Secure Community Network, which advises U.S. Jewish establishments on security, has inspired Jewish communities to be vigilant and bolster their security efforts. But the gang has instructed establishments there is not any want to shut their doorways, absent particular information differently from legislation enforcement.
Michael Masters, the gang’s CEO, warned towards letting “fear or clickbait threats cause chaos” in Jewish communities as a result of he mentioned that is a component of the target of the ones spreading hateful rhetoric on-line.
“We saw some of the worst of humanity on Saturday, but we also saw some of the best,” he said of the horrific Hamas attack. “People rushing with literally nothing at their disposal to the lives of family, friends and people they don’t know.”
“I believe we owe it to them that we aren’t going to offer in simply and that we aren’t going to bow down … as a result of others want for us to leave.”
____ Associated Press newshounds Jake Offenhartz, Deepti Hajela and Karen Matthews in New York City contributed.