The Shift: Vermont man convicted in 2023 shooting of 3 Palestinian students

A Vermont man has been convicted of attempted murder for the shootings of three Palestinian college students in November 2023.

The jury rejected an insanity defense from Jason Eaton, 51, who never denied that he shot the students.

Eaton shot Hisham Awartani (a student at Brown University), Tahseen Aliahmad (a student at Trinity College), and Kinnan Abdalhamid (a student at Haverford College) a few blocks from the University of Vermont campus while they were taking a walk. At the time, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said they “were confronted by a white male with a handgun” who shot at least four rounds at them “without speaking.” Two of them were wearing keffiyehs when they were shot and the group was speaking a mixture of Arabic and English.

The shooting took place a little over a month after the October 7 Hamas attack and amid the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

“We remain grateful to the Burlington and Vermont communities,” said the victims’ families in a joint statement. “From the first hours after the shooting, they stood with our sons—not just as crime victims, but as three young friends whose lives, wellbeing, and futures matter. That solidarity has mattered even more with each passing year, because our sons’ recovery unfolded alongside the genocide and destruction of Gaza and the escalating ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. While our children fought to heal from being shot in Burlington, they watched Palestinian children lose their lives, their homes, their land, their families. We are grateful our sons’ suffering commanded attention and support. We grieve that so much Palestinian suffering never does.”

“Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen have spent three years rebuilding their bodies and their lives after a hateful act almost killed them,” it continued. “We are profoundly relieved. And we continue to work toward a world where hateful violence against Palestinians is called out for what it is – and stopped.”

Awartani’s mother,  Elizabeth Price, said Eaton should have been hit with hate crime charges. Days after the shootings, Eaton had told his attorneys that the students shouldn’t have “dressed up like terrorists” and that things were a “little tense when you’ve got American hostages over in Palestine”

“They were not the words of a man confused about who he shot or why,” said Price. “They were the words a man who saw three young men speaking the language of their childhood and wearing what made them feel closer to their far away families and homes and decided to kill them because of his own prejudices.”

Eaton will be held in jail pending sentencing, where he faces the possibility of life behind bars.

People’s Tribunal

On October 10, a People’s Tribunal on U.S. Government Complicity in Gaza will be held in Seattle, Washington.

The in-person event, which will also be livestreamed, calls on a jury of community members to determine whether government officials should be indicted. The event is being organized by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom U.S. (WILPF US), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and Veterans For Peace (VFP).

“There is a conflict at the heart of US policy,” explains the Tribunal’s website. “While US laws and international legal frameworks are intended to prevent complicity in human rights abuses, many legal experts and members of the public have raised concerns that existing accountability mechanisms have failed to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza. As military assistance and diplomatic support continue, important questions remain about compliance with US and international law and the responsibility of public officials and institutions.”

“The People’s Tribunal on US Government Complicity in Gaza is intended to create a public forum to examine these questions,” it continues. “Through testimony, evidence, and dialogue, the tribunal will explore the role of elected officials and government institutions in shaping US policy toward Gaza. Its purpose is to educate the public, promote informed civic engagement, and build support for policy reforms that strengthen accountability, human rights, and adherence to US and international law.”

Earlier this year, a People’s Tribunal in Philadelphia found the U.S. and Israel guilty of war crimes and genocide.

That hearing was co-sponsored by Fridays at Fetterman’s, a grassroots group that has held weekly vigils outside the office of pro-Israel Senator John Fetterman.

This week at the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald Trump called the International Criminal Court (ICC) a “rogue institution” and “an evil group of people” for trying to hold Israel accountable for the genocide.

In October 2025, a People’s Tribunal held in Western Massachusetts found local institutions to be complicit in the genocide. “I hope that we can send a message to the fascists of the world and of the valley that we’re not afraid of them, and we’ll out-organize them until Palestine is free,” said one of the organizers.

“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately,” declared Trump.

You can register to watch the upcoming tribunal online.

Odds & Ends

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• Middle East Eye: ‘Mr Rogers was political, too’: Ms Rachel challenges critics over Gaza and ICE detention
• Truthout: Organizers Aim to Thwart Purchase of Israel Bonds by World’s Largest Investor
• CBS News: Protests expected in NYC ahead of Netanyahu’s speech at U.N. General Assembly
• The Independent: ‘Irish identity is more than flags and Galway Girl’: How Ed Sheeran let down Ireland with the Macklemore Palestine row
• Counterpunch: When Everything Becomes a National Security Threat 
• Drop Site News: Palestinian-American Journalist Naqaa Hamed Detained by Israeli Forces After Settlers Targeted Her
• The Intercept: Another U.S. Soldier Is Dead as Iran War Casualties Rise
• New York Magazine: Troy Jackson, Maine’s Accidental Candidate
• Jewish Insider: State Department plans memorial for American victims of Oct. 7 attack
• IMEU Policy Project: 84% Of Voters Support Van Hollen Resolution To Investigate Israel’s Killing Of US Citizens