SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
cair
Texas Woman Charged With Attempted Murder of Palestinian-American Child
"My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here," the child's mother said. "My daughter is traumatized. Whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides."
Jun 23, 2024
A 42-year-old white woman has been charged with attempted murder and injury to a child following her attempt to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American in the pool of a Euless, Texas apartment complex last month, according toCNN and other media outlets.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, called for a hate crime investigation at a press conference Saturday and warned that the incident was part of an alarming increase in anti-Muslim hate since the war in Gaza began in October.
"My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here," the 3-year-old's mother, identified only as Mrs. H. due to safety concerns, said in a statement from CAIR's Texas chapter. "My daughter is traumatized. Whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides, telling me she is afraid the lady will come and immerse her head in the water again."
A reminder that violent Islamophobia cannot be allowed in a decent society. There is no excuse or justification for trying to drown a 3-year-old.https://t.co/4N9nVGGqQd
— M.O.D.O.X. (@MODOX613) June 23, 2024
According to CAIR's account and media reports of the May 19 incident, Elizabeth Wolf, a 42-year-old white woman, allegedly approached Mrs. H. making racist interrogations about what country the family was from and the foreign language they were speaking. Mrs. H., a 32-year-old Palestinian-American woman, was wearing a hijab as she watched her two children play in the shallow end of the pool.
Wolf jumped into the pool and tried to drag the two children to the deep end. The elder of the two escaped, but Wolf allegedly held the 3-year-old child's head underwater. When Mrs. H. tried to intercede, Wolf allegedly took the hijab and tried to beat Mrs. H. with it, and also kicked her to keep her away as she attacked the child. A man then rescued the child.
Wolf was initially arrested for public intoxication and was released on bond the next day. She has since been charged with attempted murder and injury to a child, according toCNN. Wolf has again been released on bail after paying at least $40,000 in bond fees.
A woman in Texas tried to drown a 3 year old Muslim Palestinian child at her apartment complex pool after making racist remarks.
She has posted the $35,000 bond and is now back on the streets https://t.co/uoxH4l2fB6
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) June 23, 2024
Though the incident took place over a month ago, it began to draw noticeable media coverage only on Friday, when CAIR drew attention to the fact that the 3-year-old victim was Muslim—and called for a hate crime investigation.
"We ask for a hate crime probe, a higher bail bond, and an open conversation with officials to address this alarming increase in Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian sentiment," Shaimaa Zayan, a CAIR operations manager, said in the CAIR statement.
A CAIR civil rights report documented a marked surge in complaints of anti-Muslim hate in late 2023, as the war in Gaza began. Anti-semitic incidents in the U.S. also spiked during the same period, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel advocacy group, Reutersreported. More than 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, following the killing of more than 1,100 Israelis on October 7.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Glimmer of Hope' as UN Security Council Approves Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution
"We voted for this text to give diplomacy a chance," said Algeria's U.N. ambassador. "It is time to halt the killing."
Jun 10, 2024
In a move that boosts the three-phase plan announced by President Joe Biden late last month, the United Nations Security Council on Monday voted 14-0—with permanent member Russia abstaining—in favor of a U.S.-sponsored resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Russia chose not to exercise its power to veto the resolution, which urges Israel and Hamas to "fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."
Responding to the vote, Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that "although the Biden administration should have allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a permanent cease-fire resolution many months and many slaughtered Palestinians ago, we welcome today's development as a positive and long overdue step toward ending the genocide."
"The Biden administration must now use American leverage to force [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to agree to a permanent cease-fire so that the massacres of Palestinian civilians can end, all hostages and political prisoners can safely go free, international tribunals can begin holding those responsible for war crimes accountable, and the world can finally begin pursuing a credible end to the illegal occupation of Palestine that has fomented decades of injustice and oppression."
As U.N. Newsexplained:
Phase one includes an "immediate, full, and complete cease-fire with the release of hostages including women, the elderly and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed, and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners."
It calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from "populated areas" of Gaza, the return of Palestinians to their homes and neighborhoods throughout the enclave, including in the north, as well as the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale.
Phase two would see a permanent end to hostilities "in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."
In phase three, "a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza" would begin and the remains of any deceased hostages still in the strip would be returned to Israel."
The council also underlined the proposal's provision that if negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the cease-fire will continue as long as negotiations continue.
"The only way to end this cycle of violence and build a durable peace is through a political settlement," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield—who vetoed several previous Security Council cease-fire resolutions— said following Monday's vote.
The Biden administration has provided Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, arms and ammunition sales, and diplomatic cover.
In a statement, Hamas—which led the October 7 attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 people dead and over 240 others taken hostage—welcomed the resolution's passage and affirmed its willingness "to enter into indirect negotiations on the implementation of these principles."
However, Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, Israel's representative at the U.N., said her country's objectives in the war have not changed and vowed to keep fighting "until all of the hostages are returned and Hamas' military capabilities are dismantled."
"Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time," she added.
According to Palestinian and international agencies, at least 37,124 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed by Israeli forces during the 248-day Gaza onslaught, which is the subject of an International Criminal Court genocide case brought by South Africa and supported by more than 30 nations and regional blocs. Nearly 85,000 Palestinians have also been injured. At least 11,000 other Palestinians are missing and believed buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out buildings.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for alleged crimes including extermination.
Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama said after Monday's vote that "as a free and dignified people, the Palestinians will never accept living under occupation. They will never abdicate their fight for liberation."
"This text is not perfect, but it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering," he added. "We voted for this text to give diplomacy a chance. It is time to halt the killing."
The Security Council resolution's passage follows last month's vote by the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood—a move supported by 143 members of the World Body but vehemently opposed by Israel and the U.S. Only nine nations voted against recognizing Palestine as an independent state.
Keep ReadingShow Less
The Biden Administration's Hypocrisy on College Protests Must End
While the White House is quick to condemn any allegation of antisemitism at protests, whether verified or manufactured, it has repeatedly failed to condemn verified incidents of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia on college campuses.
May 01, 2024
Do you remember President Biden's swift and strong response when pro-Israel extremists reportedly blasted the chemical weapon "skunk spray" on students peacefully protesting at Columbia University earlier this year? Do you remember how the White House condemned the attack, demanded accountability, and called on the school to protect students from such hate?
No? You don't remember? Of course you don't. Because none of it happened. President Biden didn't respond swiftly or strongly to the skunk spray attack. He didn't respond at all.
How about President Biden's response when a Texas man hurled racist slurs at a group of Palestinian Americans after a ceasefire protest at the University of Texas in Austin, ripped a Palestinian flagpole off their car, dragged one of them out of the backseat, and stabbed him?
Then again, the White House said nothing—even after our civil rights and advocacy organization directly alerted the White House about the incident.
The Biden administration's silence is nothing new.
Students honoring America's long tradition of peaceful civil disobedience deserve protection and respect, not smears and violence.
On Stanford University’s campus, a driver yelling"F—k you and your people" reportedly used his car to ram an Arab Muslim student attending a ceasefire protest, sending him to the hospital. No response from the White House.
At the University of Texas, pro-Israel extremists disrupted a Palestine Solidarity Committee meeting and hurled profanities at the attendees. No response.
In Arizona, Texas, Georgia, New York and other states, law enforcement agencies have brutalized students and even professors who attended peaceful protests against the genocide in Gaza. Again, no response.
Now contrast the White House's lack of response to violent actions motivated by anti-Palestinian hate with the White House's vocal response to inflammatory words that a small number of individuals have allegedly said at or near pro-ceasefire protests on college campuses.
“I condemn the antisemitic protests, that’s why I set up a program to deal with that,” the president said, broadly mischaracterizing the sit-ins led mostly by Jewish and Palestinian students.
In a statementmarking Passover, Biden said, “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country.”
Just this week, the White House condemned protesters at Columbia for taking over Hamilton Hall—something students protesting the Vietnam War did, which the school now celebrates on its website—and curiously declared the use of a banner with the Arabic word "intifada" hate speech.
At the same time, the White House conveniently ignored the fact that most prominent banner displayed was "Hind's Hall," named after the 6-year-old girl murdered by Israeli forces while waiting for medics—also murdered—to save her.
Hypocrisy does not begin to describe the White House's inconsistency, which extends well beyond college campuses.
Last fall, the White House rushed to falsely claim that ceasefire protesters in Philadelphia were antisemitic for demonstrating outside a kosher restaurant—the protesters actually targeted the business because it held a fundraiser benefiting the IDF.
But the White House said nothing when protesters at November's March for Israel chanted genocidal slogans. On the contrary, a prominent Biden administration official spoke at the march, sharing the stage with notoriously anti-Muslim and antisemitic pastor John Hagee.
If President Biden is going to comment on every controversy that erupts at a protest or on a college campus, he must do so with moral consistency.
While the administration is quick to condemn any allegation of antisemitism at protests, whether verified or manufactured, the administration has repeatedly failed to condemn verified incidents of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia on college campuses (not to mention the antisemitism that pro-Israel extremists have directed at Jewish students advocating for a ceasefire, such as calling them "kapos.")
Singling out the remarks of unidentified bad actors at anti-genocide protests—some of whom may be agent provocateurs—was a transparent attempt to divert the conversation away from what Jewish, Palestinian, and other students are actually protesting for: divestment from the Israeli government and an end to the genocide.
Students honoring America's long tradition of peaceful civil disobedience deserve protection and respect, not smears and violence.
By instead validating slanders against pro-Palestinian protesters and downplaying anti-Palestinian racism on college campuses, the Biden administration has sent a signal that the hurt feelings of pro-war students who cannot tolerate hearing any criticism of the Israeli government are more worthy of attention than the violated rights and injured bodies of anti-war students.
The administration also gave law enforcement agencies and pro-Israel mobs cover to escalate their targeting of students, leading to horrific attacks on students at the University of California Los Angeles.
This inconsistency—this utter hypocrisy—must end. If President Biden is going to comment on every controversy that erupts at a protest or on a college campus, he must do so with moral consistency. He can start by condemning the ongoing efforts to defame and brutalize anti-genocide students before we see more attacks on protesters or, God forbid, a repeat of the Kent State massacre.
Just like during Vietnam, a young generation of students is on the right side of history. It's long past time for President Biden to join them.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular