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Pritzker stands with Arab Americans to denounce surging hatred

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As Illinois continues to see an uptick in hate crimes in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday urged state residents to renounce hatred and to stand in solidarity with its Muslim and Jewish neighbors.

“Hate has no home here in Illinois. It’s a phrase I’ve used time and time again, but hate always has an insidious way of trying to move in if we let it. So we must stand together to reject,” Pritzker said, surrounded by members of the Arab American Bar Association at a Chicago press conference.

“We stand here united across religions, across ethnicities to renounce hatred. To show our Muslim and Jewish neighbors that we stand with them, and to chart a new course of solidarity, justice and humanity,” Pritzker said. […]

William Haddad, founding president of the Arab American Bar Association, detailed the many instances of discrimination and hate that members of the Arab-American community have experienced since the war began.

“I regret to say that the onslaught of hate crimes against Arab-Americans and Muslims is far exceeding what we saw in the aftermath of 9/11, far exceeding what we saw during the presidential primaries in 2016, when there were murders committed in North Carolina and in Texas,” Haddad said Monday. “We’re at a pace now that seems like were’ going in that direction.”

* Haddad referenced several instances of hate around the country, including these local instances. From CBS 2…

An Islamic day school in southwest suburban Bridgeview chose to close on Friday and switch to remote learning after receiving what its principal called a “threatening hate letter.”

Tammie Ismail, principal of the all-girls Aqsa School, wrote to parents that the school received the letter through the mail on Thursday. She said she immediately informed Bridgeview police, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and Illinois State Police about the letter. […]

“The letter itself was very violent,” Ismail said, adding the person who wrote it referenced the hate crime and stabbing death of Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, in Plainfield Township.

The letter was “applauding his killing,” Ismail said, and called the man accused of the killing a “national treasure.” She said it was riddled with racist, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim language, and discussed killing Muslims and Palestinians.

* Also in Bridgeview…

Rehab called [the letter to the school] one of the worst letters he’s seen since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but it was not the only threat this week.

“There were several letters that were distributed to residents in Bridgeview that included hate mail letters, saying ‘all Muslims must leave Bridgeview.’ ‘Muslims must die.’ Very hateful letters,” said Milburn, the CAIR Chicago attorney.

Bridgeview police said they are investigating to learn where the threats came from. Meanwhile, Muslim residents had one message.

* And in Lombard…

A Lombard man is being charged with a hate crime after he allegedly threatened to shoot two Muslim men amid a verbal assault in the parking lot of an apartment complex earlier this week, authorities said.

Larry York, 46, is charged with two counts of hate crime, a Class 4 felony. […]

Police said that a short time later, as one of the victims was sitting on a bench outside the building, York lifted one end of the bench up, causing the man to fall on the ground at which time York allegedly told the men he called four of his friends to come shoot them.

York allegedly further threatened the men during the incident, shouting obscenities at them centering around their Muslim faith and at one point saying “this is America” while demanding that they get out of the country.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 1:54 pm

Comments

Good for the Governor who has navigated the complexities of the last few weeks quite well.

Comment by wowie Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 2:03 pm
===“Hate has no home here in Illinois. It’s a phrase I’ve used time and time again, but hate always has an insidious way of trying to move in if we let it. So we must stand together to reject,” Pritzker said, surrounded by members of the Arab American Bar Association at a Chicago press conference.

“We stand here united across religions, across ethnicities to renounce hatred. To show our Muslim and Jewish neighbors that we stand with them, and to chart a new course of solidarity, justice and humanity,” Pritzker said.===

This has to be everything.

Hate can never be acceptable

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 2:17 pm
That is called leadership.

Comment by Hannibal Lecter Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 2:54 pm
It is a very scary time, particularly in higher education. There have been several reports of students taking a stand in support of different groups, and being ostracized. Not just at Harvard and Yale, etc., but at many schools.

While the words we choose matter, at different times, those words have different meanings and convey differing assumptions. Those who have demonstrated support for Palestinians have been particularly targeted, in some cases more for a poor choice of words that take on a new context during this immediate crisis. Hamas is wrong. It demands evil. At the same time, Israel and Palestine are just rights requiring we remain focused on a two-state solution of equal regard for two groups of people, born of the same father, Abraham, in the same geographic space.

As a pacifist who previously served in the U.S. Army (and who respects our military personnel), I would suggest we need to be more sensitive to the reality that many younger Illinoisan adults are still being formed in their beliefs and their knowledge of the world. Whether pro-Palestinian or Pro-Israeli (or in many cases, both), I think it behooves us all equally to defend our immediate brother and sister Illinoisans from harm. To be pro-one does not require that one be anti-another.

Particularly at this moment, we must reject hate. We must do so with love and understanding that for many, the words we are choosing are not always well-thought for this immediate moment, and in some cases miss the point that the current conflict requires greater sensitivity.

I applaud our Governor for demanding equal love and equal respect for two ethnic groups of equal need for protection.

Comment by H-W Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 3:05 pm
And President Bush said much of the same after 9/11.

Comment by Jerry Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 3:26 pm
=== Hate can never be acceptable ===

Agreed. The hate crimes in the US will likely calm down as soon as folks stop throwing fuel on the fire, and as we get further away from October 7th.

At the same time, did the bar association condemn the terror attacks on Israel?

As far as I know, only one Arab nation condemned the terror attack.

Comment by Thomas Paine Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 5:13 pm
The Governor is on the right side here. I often disagree with him, but here I support his sentiments completely.

I fought terrorists, I have no love for them. I know the difference between a child who has done nothing, the average Muslim and a school of full of children from terrorists. It is inexcusable to commit terroristic action towards someone just because of how they look, where they are from or what their religion may be. To do so places someone in the same light as the actual terrorists they think they are attacking. This all a part of not being socialized outside of your tribe or comfort zone.

This is preaching to the choir, as the majority of those who post here are decent humans.

Comment by FormerParatrooper Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 9:38 pm