Law enforcement agencies will offer additional protection to Jewish and Muslim groups Friday
Law enforcement agencies across the country plan to offer additional protection to Jewish and Muslim organizations Friday as the Israel-Hamas war inspires protests and acts of violence in communities around the world.
Multiple government officials and law enforcement officers have acknowledged these plans, while also clarifying that there is no “known threat.”
“There’s no reason to feel afraid. No one should feel they have to alter their normal lives,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a Thursday press conference, according to Reuters.
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The Salt Lake City Police Department made a similar point in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
“The steps the Salt Lake City Police Department is taking are not in response to any known threat. The Salt Lake City Police Department wants community members to feel safe and to go about their daily lives,” the department said in the statement, noting that officers have been in regular contact with local Jewish and Muslim leaders since Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel.
More than 2,700 people have died from Saturday’s attacks or during the violence that’s followed, according to The Associated Press. Hamas militants continue to fire rockets into Israel, while Israel retaliates by bombing the Gaza Strip.
The war “is expected to escalate” in the coming days, according to The Associated Press.
‘Day of Jihad’
Amid the violence in Israel and Gaza, a former Hamas leader “called for Friday to be a global day of ‘anger’ in support of the recent Hamas attack on Israel” so that “Zionists” and U.S. leaders would receive a “message of rage,” according to NBC News.
“Historically, such calls for action or for a ‘day of rage’ have produced large demonstrations and unrest in Gaza and the West Bank. But they have not led to large-scale attacks in the U.S. in the past,” the article said.
Still, U.S. law enforcement agencies are taking the potential for violence seriously.
In New York and Los Angeles, all police personnel have been asked to report for duty Friday to help their departments offer extra protection to houses of worship and other faith-based organizations, per NBC news.
In Salt Lake, the police department has already been undertaking “enhanced patrols” around the city’s three Jewish centers, according to Thursday’s statement.
A senior law enforcement official, who was not named by NBC News, “said local and federal agencies are viewing Friday as a ‘bellwether’ for the level of antisemitic energy in the U.S., adding that all in law enforcement hope calls for violence will not materialize.”
“We are at a heightened posture and talking to our counterparts across the country. This is the highest level of security a lot of cities have had in some time,” the official said.
Pro-Palestinian protests planned
Outside of the U.S., pro-Palestinian protests are expected Friday, according to Reuters.
The same former Hamas leader who called for a “message of rage” has urged people to speak out against Israel. Khaled Meshaal also called for supporters in other countries to “join the fight against Israel,” Reuters reported.
“Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan. ... This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility,” he said, according to Reuters.
