Muslim and Jewish civil rights groups say they see Harassment ReportSince the Hamas attacks on October 7, community members have experienced prejudice and physical attacks.
Anti-Defamation League and Council on American-Islamic Relations report increase in incidents, many involving violence or threats Protesters at rally Support Israel or support the Palestinians when war broke out between Israel and Hamas in the past two weeks. Other attacks and harassment reported by these groups were directed at random Muslims or Jews in public.
A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Wednesday that the organization’s chapters and national offices have received 774 reports. Behavior related to bias From October 7th to 24th. National headquarters had 110 direct reports during the period, compared with 63 for the full year in August. Leaders of the committee believe it is the largest wave of complaints since December 2015, when then-presidential candidate Donald Trump announced his intention to ban Muslim immigration after a mass shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead. to the United States.
Acts reported since Oct. 7 include an Illinois landlord stabbing to death 6 year old muslim boy The boy’s mother was injured and a Michigan man was arrested after he posted on social media asking people to join him in hunting down Palestinians, police said.
“Public officials should do everything they can to prevent the current wave of hatred sweeping the country from getting out of control,” said Corey Seiler, director of research and advocacy at the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Thaler noted that former President George W. Bush’s visit to the mosque after the 9/11 attacks had an effect on calming the backlash against the Muslim community. He called on President Joe Biden to visit Americans who have lost loved ones in Gaza.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism reported in a statement on Wednesday that the organization recorded at least 312 reports of anti-Semitic acts between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23, compared with 64 recorded during the same period in 2022.These reports include graffiti, defamation, or anonymous Post a messageand physical violence, such as when a woman was beaten in New York by an attacker who the league said said, “You’re a Jew.”
The 312 reports included 109 anti-Israel sentiments expressed or declared at Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism rallies that were found to “explicitly or strongly suggest support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel,” the statement said. Behavior”.
Protesters at several rallies have used the slogan “From river to sea, Palestine will be free,” which the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups have criticized as calling for the disintegration of the state of Israel. Many Palestinian activists say they are not calling for the destruction of Israel but for freedom of movement and equal rights and protections for Palestinians across the country.
The Anti-Defamation League is calling for a strong response to anti-Semitic posts, comments and actions. The group said the number of violent messages mentioning Jews on platforms such as Telegram Messenger even outnumbered reports of in-person incidents.
“All leaders, from political leaders to CEOs to university presidents, have a responsibility to firmly and unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism and terrorism,” Jonathan Greenblatt, executive director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in a statement.
British Jewish civil rights organization, France and other countries EuropeAnti-Semitic acts have also increased in Latin America, North Africa and other regions over the past few weeks compared to 2022. Alliance officials said that London police received 218 reports of anti-Semitic crimes between October 1 and 18, a number that is 13 times higher than in 2022. That’s higher than the number reported in 2022.
___
Associated Press reporter Noreen Nasir in New York contributed to this report.
Svlook
