In the tumultuous throes of the Israel-Hamas War, and the escalating crisis in the beleaguered region of Gaza, Taher Herzallah finds his heart torn between dual fears for kinfolk residing thousands of miles apart. Frantic messages exchanged over social media depict a dire situation for his family in Gaza, grappling without essential supplies such as food, electricity, water, or fuel.
His relatives convey grim narratives of their circumstances: “We think this is it, we will not survive this one,” further gripping the hearts of Palestinian Americans hearing such desperate predicaments their families back home endure. Simultaneously, Herzallah’s mounting dread finds roots closer to home with an alarming rise in attacks reportedly perpetrated against those perceived to be of Muslim or Palestinian origin.
For the Palestinian American community, their grief transcends physical boundaries: the funeral of Wadea Al Fayoume, a slain 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, evoked burning anger alongside sorrow. Outside the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Illinois, communal grief was emboldened with a growingly palpable feeling of indignance, fueled by this horrendous act of Islamophobic violence.
In the wake of the crisis, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American groups have reported escalating instances of unaired transgressions against their communities – a disturbing increase in vandalism, school and workplace bullying, and threatening phone calls.
The disconcerting sentiment of fear spreads beyond geographical borders, expressed by Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American civil rights activist. The safety of her comrades in the US is the matter of utmost concern for her, while part of her extended family resides in the West Bank. Fear breeds caution, as echoed in Sarsour’s poignant assertion, “One of the things that’s always the saddest for me is when people start giving each other advice about not going out alone.”
Further incidents of violence against the community, ranging from physical assaults and making threatening online remarks against Palestinian American residents in New York City and Dearborn, Michigan, respectively, scream of the rapidly deteriorating situation. Abed Ayoub of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee attributes this distressing surge to the absence of Palestinian and Muslim perspectives in mainstream US coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Countering the prevalent narratives that equate supporting Palestine with endorsing Hamas, Ayoub emphasizes the need for recognizing the diversity and nuances within Arab and Palestinian communities, stating, “Labeling everyone as Hamas just to justify the attacks is dangerous and we’re seeing that play out.”
Despite enduring heightened anxiety and fear, several leaders within the Muslim and Arab communities, such as Selaedin Maksut, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations of New Jersey, are rallying in unison against the growing tide of Islamophobia. A universal outcry from US officials, according to Sarsour, would be a prudent step towards curtailing the escalation of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Arab sentiment. Unity is their watchword in prevailing against growing intolerance and bigotry, as they collectively assert, ‘We stand united.’
