In a statement marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel, Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general, decried Jew-hatred and all forms of hate.
“Monday, Oct. 7 will mark one year since Hamas terrorists murdered nearly 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans, kidnapped hundreds of civilians and perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” stated the attorney general, who is Jewish.
Garland noted that the U.S. Department of Justice recently unsealed terrorism charges against Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, for carrying out the Oct. 7 attack.
The department “is committed to pursuing the terrorists responsible for murdering Americans—and those who illegally provide them with material support—for the rest of their lives,” Garland stated.
“We are targeting every aspect of Hamas’s operations, and our work is far from over,” he added.
The DOJ is “also committed to continuing to combat the disturbing rise in the volume and frequency of threats against Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities here in the United States that we saw in the wake of last year’s attacks,” Garland added. “The Justice Department has responded forcefully to these threats, and we have no tolerance for unlawful acts fueled by hatred of any kind.”
He noted that the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack comes “at a time when millions of Jewish Americans are observing the High Holidays.” The DOJ “reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that Jews in this country feel safe and are protected.”
“No person and no community should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence, and the Justice Department will aggressively investigate and prosecute criminal acts and threats of hate whenever and wherever they occur,” he added.
