A 71-year-old Illinois landlord has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Authorities say he attacked and seriously wounded one of his tenants before stabbing her 6-year-old son Wadea Al-Fayoume 26 times. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” read a statement from the Will County’s Sheriff’s Office.
Wadea’s uncle, Yousef Hannon, spoke to reporters at a press conference organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Sunday. “We are not animals, we are humans. We want people to see us as humans, to feel us as humans, to deal with us as humans, because this is what we are,” he said.
Palestinians have consistently been dehumanized by Israeli and U.S. lawmakers since Hamas’s assault on October 7. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has called for Gaza to be “flattened,” Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley called on the Israeli government to “finish them.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that the IDF is fighting against “human animals.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) posted about the killing on her Instagram account. “I can’t take this anymore,” she wrote. “The hate and racist rhetoric coming out of Washington is pushing incendiary, hateful, and dehumanizing anti-Palestinian & anti-Muslim rhetoric that must be called out. Stop it! All of you.”
“Wadea did not deserve his 6 year old body to be mutilated 26 times with a knife,” she continued. “He didn’t deserve his country to have people believe he is sub human. Allah Yerhamo.”
GOP refugee bill
Two Republican House members have introduced a bill that would prohibit the United States from accepting Palestinian refugees displaced by Israel.
Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Andy Ogles (R-TN) have introduced the Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission Act, which was purposely named to create a callous alternative title: the GAZA Act.
“We can’t let President Biden abuse our parole and visa rules to bring unvetted Palestinians into American communities the way he did with thousands of unvetted Afghans,” wrote Tiffany on Twitter.
“We MUST stop Biden from importing terrorists!,” tweeted Ogles.
J Street tension
There seems to be internal turmoil brewing within the liberal, pro-Israel group J Street.
Last week The Intercept’s Ryan Grim, Prem Thakker, and Akela Lacy reported that the organization was threatening to hold their endorsements for lawmakers who refused to back a bipartisan pro-Israel resolution. The resolution, which was introduced by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY, declared that Congress would stand with “Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.”
Just 13 Democrats declined to endorse the measure.
“J Street has been warning Democrats that if they don’t sponsor the McCaul–Meeks resolution, they will lose the group’s endorsement come reelection time, according to sources familiar with the position J Street has been relaying to members of Congress,” reads the Intercept piece.
“An important part of being in political partnership is ensuring that one’s core values are shared — especially in moments of crisis,” the group explained to the website. “We have been reaching out to all of our endorsed candidates to let them know that for J Street, a pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy organization, signing on to the broad-based congressional resolution that condemns Hamas, and states support for the State and people of Israel, is a deeply important affirmation of one of our core values. We are urging our endorsed candidates and all Members of Congress to vote yes on this resolution if and when it is brought to a vote.”
Now Grim and Thakker have a new report detailing the fallout generated by the move. More than 100 former J Street staffers and campus activists have signed a letter calling for the organization to formally back a ceasefire in the region.
“In this defining moment, we are looking to J Street for leadership and it is failing all of us,” former J Street U president Zoe Goldblum told the site. “J Street should throw its weight behind calls for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire, instead of efforts like the McCaul–Meeks resolution which beats the drums of war while Palestinians in Gaza face threats of genocide. Intentionally or not, J Street is pushing American political leadership more firmly towards unconditional support for war.”
CNN Poll
CNN has released a new poll showing that many Americans are sympathetic to Israelis and believe the attacks on Gaza are justified.
The survey, which was conducted with SSRS, found that 50% of Americans say that Israel’s military response to the Hamas assault is fully justified. 20% said it is partially justified, and 8% said it’s not justified at all. 21% of those polled said they weren’t sure.
68% of Republicans surveyed said it was justified, which was 30 points higher than the Democrats polled: 38% of them said it was justified.
The poll has been shared by pro-Israel groups online as proof that Americans are united on the issue, but a closer look reveals that support for the country is no longer carrying over generationally.
81% of Americans over the age of 65 think the military response is justified, 56% of those 50-64 years old, 35-49 years old is 44%, and just 27% of Americans 18-34 say it is.
Elbit hit again
For the third time in four days, an Elbit Systems facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been sprayed with red paint. The Israeli defense company is Israel’s largest weapons supplier.
Jake Sullivan comment
In a CBS News appearance White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan accidentally backed the central argument for the Palestinian right of return.
When asked if Palestinians currently fleeing Gaza will be allowed to eventually return to their homes, Sullivan responded,
“We are not at the point of discussing the operational details of people, the larger civilian population leaving Gaza. We’re focused right now on getting them to safe areas, not in the north of Gaza, but down in the south of Gaza. In terms of the larger question of whether those who leave can return, the United States has a very simple proposition on this: it’s when people leave their homes in conflict, leave their houses in conflict, they deserve the right to return to those homes- to those houses. And this situation is no different.”
NYC charity fundraises for Israeli drone
A Long Island-based charity is raising money to help the IDF buy thermal imaging drones to “detect approaching terrorists at night.”
Bet El Institutions Director of Development Baruch Gordon sent an email to supporters of the organization asking for donations.
“At Bet El, we have been alerted to specific needs by specific units,” the email explains. “So, Bet El Founder Ketzaleh, Bet El Institutions CEO Yaakov Harnik (who was drafted on Shabbat) and I decided to turn to those of you who know us to update you on this opportunity to help.”
Gordon says the best way to help Jews “surrounded by Arab villages” is by purchasing the Israelis drones.
“This could really make a difference. The drone distributor told me today that the IDF purchased his whole stock of the drone model in the picture below – but he’s getting more next week.
The above drone is the one that the IDF is purchasing and costs..approx. $6,5000. We need over 40.
The money is being raised through the organization Israel Empowered Inc, which is based in Woodmere, NY. The organization says its purpose is to “create an environment through which individuals can attain an understanding and appreciation of their Jewish, Zionistic heritage and identity.”
“All who care about Israel are in this together,” concludes Gordon’s email. “We pray and hope for a decisive, crushing victory that renders Hamas nothing more than a page in history books. Let’s roll!”
