Hate crimes jumped 7% in 2022 from year before, FBI data show

(NewsNation) — Reports of hate crimes in the United States jumped nearly 7% in 2022 from the previous year, according to new data from the FBI.

The agency’s annual Hate Crime Statistics report shows the uptick was particularly acute for Jewish Americans, who were the victim of 1,124 hate crimes in 2022, the most recorded since 1995 and an increase of 36.4% from 2021.

Black Americans remained the most targeted group in 2022, with 3,424 incidents recorded, a jump of 3.8% from the prior year. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people were also up 13.8% in 2022.

The White House said in a statement the FBI report is a “reminder that hate never goes away, it only hides” and that “any hate crime is a stain on the soul of America.”

The release of the report comes on the heels of a Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed more than 1,300 Israelis.

“To those Americans worried about violence at home, as a result of the evil acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas in Israel, we see you. We hear you,” the White House said in its statement.

The FBI is tracking threats against Jews and Muslims amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and FBI Director Christopher Wray warned last week that terror attacks are possible in the U.S.

“We cannot, and do not, discount the possibility that Hamas or other foreign terrorist organizations could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks on our own soil,” he said.

In Illinois, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy was killed Saturday when the boy’s mother’s landlord came to the home and stabbed him and his mother multiple times. Police say the pair were targeted because of their Muslim faith.

While hate crimes were up in 2022, national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates, according to the FBI data.

NewsNation reporter Zaid Jilani contributed to this report.