Latest news with #Palestinian-Americans
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Raising of Palestinian flag at Providence City Hall also raises tensions among city leaders
PROVIDENCE – A Palestinian flag waved outside Providence City Hall in hopes of invoking solidarity and honoring 'the important role' that Palestinian-Americans play in a city as diverse as Providence, speakers at a May 16 flag-raising ceremony said. But the proposal to raise the flag has opened conflict within the ranks of local and state leaders. According to members of the City Council, the flag was raised at the request of constituents. 'Every one of us is safer when we can celebrate every part of our community,' City Council President Rachel Miller said at the flag-raising ceremony. The downtown Providence rally drew a large crowd to the steps of City Hall, where people of all ages brought their own Palestinian flags and banners, sticking around to play music and dance after an hour of speeches from community leaders. Despite support from some community members, there had been staunch opposition to placing a Palestinian flag on government property from other members of the public, who referred to it as an endorsement of terror and criticized the local government for taking a stance on international issues. A cohort of counterprotesters attended the Palestinian flag ceremony, too, carrying Israeli flags and, at times, attempting to drown out the official lineup of speakers, but the event carried on peacefully. 'City Hall displays many different flags throughout the year to mark different occasions and honor the many ethnic and cultural backgrounds and traditions that make our city strong. Just in the past couple of months, the city has flown the Dominican flag, the Irish flag, the Italian flag, the Armenian flag, and the Israeli flag,' the City Council's communication director, Marc Boyd, said in a statement. For Reema Said-Awad – a Palestinian Rhode Islander who just completed a master's degree in justice studies at Rhode Island College while focusing on academic freedom for Palestine – getting to see a flag from her homeland hanging outside City Hall has remarkable symbolic value. 'It means a lot. It means we're finally being recognized as human beings,' she told The Providence Journal after delivering remarks to the audience. 'We don't hold hate. We want unity. We want people to understand that we are human beings who deserve existence.' According to Said-Awad, hundreds of Palestinian-Americans across Rhode Island have joined campaigns to demand that state representatives use their power to end the U.S.-backed Israel-Hamas war. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has surpassed 53,000 people, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health, since Israel began its armed assault in October 2023, following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack into Israel that killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to the taking of about 250 hostages. Since March, Israeli forces have blocked deliveries of food, water, medication and other necessities from entering Gaza, and aid groups stress the mounting toll that the humanitarian crisis is taking on civilians, as reported by Al Jazeera. Said-Awad said she and fellow community members have made thousands of phone calls, but they consistently receive generic responses. 'Obviously, we are very aware of what has been happening to the Palestinian people for quite some time now, so we want to uplift that message and show the Palestinian-Americans we have here that we see them and we're here to support them,' said City Councilor Miguel Sanchez. Sanchez said that a few council members were looped in about the request for a flag, and they alerted the mayor's administration before taking the idea public. Mayor Brett Smiley said that he would not have chosen to raise the flag himself out of fear that it would isolate Jewish residents. 'My office does not have the authority to prevent a separate, independent branch of government from expressing their differing political and cultural views,' Smiley said in a statement. 'It is my hope that both the City Council and the community who participates in the flag raising ceremony will use this as an opportunity to find unity instead of further division.' In an interview with NBC 10, Smiley said that Providence doesn't have a foreign affairs department and that taking such measures isn't part of a city leader's job. 'I would push back on the mayor's comments,' said Sanchez. 'The mayor was literally in Israel for a week.' The City Council's May 15 meeting was also a tense affair, where Councilwoman Helen Anthony and Councilman James Taylor opened the meeting with opposition to hanging a Palestinian flag. Taylor accused the City Council president and her staff of roping the council into her personal agenda, adding that at no point had he been consulted about the flag. 'You are welcome to speak, but you cannot make personal attacks on the floor,' replied Miller. A week after the state House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution recognizing Israeli independence and reaffirming the "bonds of friendship and cooperation" with the country, the state Senate on May 15 canceled a vote in a similar resolution. The Senate resolution, S1065, introduced by Providence Democratic Sen. Sam Zurier, was "placed on the desk," a move that means it could resurface for a vote – or not – at any time. "A couple of members raised concerns with the language of the resolution," Senate spokesman Greg Pare wrote in an email. "Because it was a new bill, they had not had the opportunity to speak with the sponsor." The proposed Senate resolution is identical to the House version that passed without objection, with the exception of one paragraph in the House version that says Israel "has sought to achieve a secure peace with the Palestinians and Israel's other Arab neighbors," which is absent in the Senate version. Both resolutions celebrate "a special relationship based on mutually shared democratic and moral values, common strategic interests, and bonds of friendship and mutual respect" between Rhode Island and Israel while lamenting "unjustified diplomatic and economic boycotts against the people of Israel." One of the senators who objected to the resolution was Sen. Sam Bell of Providence, who posted on the social network Bluesky that he was "deeply disappointed that the RI House of Representatives passed an inflammatory resolution praising Israel in deeply inaccurate and offensive terms." Smiley recently spent a week in Israel visiting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, among other locations. The trip was organized and partially paid for by the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, while the mayor personally funded the remaining costs. The visit's primary purpose was to 'strengthen the relationship between Israel and Rhode Island.' Smiley told the Boston Globe that he converted to Judaism in 2024 after a year of study. On his first morning back in town from Israel on May 15, about 20 demonstrators with the group Jewish Voice for Peace gathered outside the mayor's house and chanted, 'Wake up Smiley,' while banging drums and noisemakers at 7 a.m. 'We're hoping to make it clear to Smiley and other local leaders and politicians that going on these kinds of propaganda trips has consequences,' said Zack Kligler, an organizer for Jewish Voice for Peace. 'We're not going to let you comfortably pander to the Israel lobby for your higher political ambitions and leave behind the people of Providence who are struggling with rising rents and putting food on the table.' The protest coincided with Nakba Day, Kliger said, which commemorates 77 years since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the creation of the state of Israel and the displacement of Palestinians. In Arabic, Nakba means, 'catastrophe.' 'It is a deep, deep irony that Smiley's first day back at his home is on the anniversary of the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians,' said Kliger. 'We're both here to honor Nakba Day and the legacy of those Palestinians and to show Smiley that he can't sleep comfortably in his home while Palestinians are bombed in theirs.' 'People are progressive until it has to do with Palestine,' Said-Awad said. 'Look at our college campuses and what's happening there. They've been trying to shut us down for speaking out about Palestine.' This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Palestinian flag raising at Providence City Hall sparks tensions
NBC News
12-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Community mourns after Palestinian-American teenager killed in West Bank
A community in the West Bank is mourning the death of 14-year-old Amer Rabee, a Palestinian-American boy who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after they claim he was throwing rocks at passing cars. NBC News' Matt Bradley is in his home village of Turmus Ayya, where thousands of other Palestinian-Americans say they feel abandoned by the Trump administration.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinian-American boy, 14, shot dead by Israeli troops in West Bank
April 7 (UPI) -- A 14-year-old Palestinian-American teen was shot and killed by Israeli troops in the central West Bank village of Turmusaya 10 miles northeast of Ramallah, the de-facto capital of the occupied Palestinian territory, authorities said. Turmusaya Mayor Lafi Shalabi identified the boy as Omar Rabea, saying two other boys aged 14 and 15 were injured in the incident Sunday night, one of them seriously. The IDF said it opened fire as part of a counterterrorism operation but said it had targeted "terrorists" killing one and hitting the two others because they were hurling stones at Israeli motorists, placing civilians using the road in peril. Poor quality footage being circulated by the IDF appeared to show one individual among a group of three people throwing a projectile of some kind. The foreign ministry of the Palestinian Authority accused Israeli forces of carrying out another "extrajudicial killing" and condemned the targeting of children with live fire. "Israel's continued impunity as an illegal occupying power encourages it to commit further crimes," it said in a statement. Rabea's killing, one of two Palestinian-Americans and Americans Mohammed Khdour and Rachel Corrie killed in the West Bank over the past two decades, apparently by Israeli forces, came hours before Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday. The Israelis and U.S. State Department did not immediately offer any comment on Sunday's incident. However, the Council of American-Islamic Relations criticizaed a lack of actions on behalf of U.S. administrations to hold Israel, its soldiers or illegal settlers accountable for killing or injuring Palestinian-Americans and reiterated its call for the U.S. Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation seeking justice for Rabea and other victims of Israeli violence. "Every hour of every day, Palestinians -- including Palestinian-Americans -- are subjected to injury, death or expulsion from their homes and land by the far-right Israeli government and its racist supporters, all with the complicity of our own government," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. "If the Trump administration really wants to put 'America first,' its first duty is to protect the lives of American citizens. The Department of Justice must act to investigate this and all other murders and attacks targeting Palestinian-Americans. Those responsible must be brought to justice," said Awad.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois jury nears deliberation in killing of Palestinian-American boy
The Brief Testimony has concluded in the murder trial of Joseph Czuba, who is accused of killing 6-year-old Wadee Al Fayoumi and injuring his mother. Prosecutors say the attack was racially motivated, citing Czuba's statements about fearing Muslims. Closing arguments could take place as early as Friday, with jury deliberations possibly beginning before the weekend. PLAINFIELD, Ill. - Testimony has wrapped up in the Will County trial of 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, who is charged with the fatal stabbing of 6-year-old Wadee Al Fayoumi and the critical wounding of the boy's mother, Hannan Shaheen. What we know Prosecutors say Czuba attacked the boy and his mother in October 2023, just days after the Hamas attack on Israel, because they are Palestinian-Americans. The two were tenants living in Czuba's Plainfield home. In a video played in court Thursday, Czuba is seen in a police car speaking—unprompted—about the attack. He claimed he feared for his life. "I was afraid for my wife. I was afraid they were going to do Jihad on me," Czuba said. Czuba continued speaking to a Will County deputy sheriff, saying, "I was just trying to help her out because she couldn't afford a house… She didn't tell me she was a Muslim… She was a trained fighter. Let me tell you she was a problem. They are like infested rats." The mother and son had been living at the home for more than two years without incident. Czuba's wife testified that he became withdrawn and angry after watching news coverage of the Hamas attack. In the video played in court, Czuba said, "I can't believe all these protests of people supporting the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization). It's so evil. It's like Nazis." Meanwhile, forensic experts testified that blood and DNA from Czuba and the victims were found on the knife allegedly used in the attack. Czuba waived his right to testify in his own defense. His attorneys called three sheriff's deputies to the stand in an effort to clarify some of the evidence. What's next Closing arguments in the case could take place as soon as Friday. If that happens, the jury may begin deliberations before the weekend.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The People Who Turned On Democrats Over Gaza Don't Want Your Blame After Trump's Rant
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. After Donald Trump's incendiary call for Palestinians to leave Gaza and for the United States to take control there, it didn't take long for a now-familiar chorus to begin. 'Heck of a job, Dearborn. Especially you, Rashida Tlaib,' posted a political columnist. 'I have ZERO sympathy for the Palestinian-Americans who stayed home or voted for Trump. You get what you deserve,' added another liberal commentator. An MSNBC host reminded her audience, 'I think now it's very appropriate to reiterate that elections have consequences.' A Washington correspondent sneered, 'Hope everyone is happy now that they got Genocide Joe out of office.' The people in Dearborn and other Arab American enclaves—many of whom spent months telling professional Democrats what was happening in their communities and begging for a change in policy toward the war in Gaza—are watching the blame game with resignation. Mohyeddin Abdulaziz, a Palestinian American lawyer and longtime Democratic organizer in Arizona, told me he spent months campaigning against the presidential candidate of his own party, hoping to pressure the Biden administration into reversing its policy of arming Israel. Like virtually every Palestinian in the global diaspora, he said he carried the grief of witnessing a never-ending influx of videos showing the aftermath of Israel's relentless aerial bombardments. Dismembered children, the bodies of babies, mass graves—Abdulaziz described the anguish of knowing that the bombs used to kill his people were paid for in part by his tax dollars. Continuing to support the administration responsible seemed impossible. He felt abandoned by his own party. First, he tried to apply pressure through internal channels, warning Democratic leaders that the party's unflinching support for Israel would cost them at the polls. 'We told them that we have more votes than the anti-Trump Republicans and Liz Cheney supporters. They made a decision not to communicate with us and instead spent time and money promoting their relationship with Liz Cheney,' he said. He and many others continued to protest but were always ready to find a way to support Kamala Harris if she distanced herself from Biden's policies. But she never did. 'I am so disappointed and still disappointed in the Democratic Party,' he said. 'Kamala failed.' When he first read Trump's proposal to expel Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into 'the Riviera of the Middle East,' Abdulaziz was stunned. 'Usually, perpetrators of war crimes or genocide don't talk about it. They want to disassociate themselves. But it was so brazen there in the White House, talking about it as if it was neutral, or a deal.' Still, he doesn't believe much would have changed if Harris had won. He said those who are now blaming people like him are an extension of the Democratic Party's persistent refusal to listen to and understand its voters. 'They have shown no imagination, no understanding of what happened, and no ability to move forward. If they thought our vote was insignificant, how can they blame us for their defeat afterward? It just doesn't make sense.' In Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state that broke for Trump, Palestinian American activist Reem Abuelhaj spent much of the election season bolstering the No Ceasefire, No Vote movement. As with Abdulaziz in Arizona, the goal was not to hand Trump the election but to wield political power in a critical state to save lives. 'For people who a vote for genocide was a red line, who were being vocal during the election, they were giving the Biden–Harris administration an opportunity to change course and do the right thing. First and foremost, for Palestinians in Gaza, and secondly, to secure a victory in the election,' she told me. Instead, those voters were shut out. 'It's not surprising that after a year of watching children get brutally killed by U.S. bombs on social media and everywhere else, many people in the U.S. were not motivated to go out and vote for a party that was paying for that,' she said. 'It's obviously horrific to hear this call for ethnic cleansing,' she added. 'But this is just the next step in a long series of political leaders supporting this policy.' Hamid Bendaas, the communications director for the Policy Project at the Institute for Middle East Understanding, finds it telling that the people now finger-pointing tend to single out Palestinians and Arabs, not others who opposed the war. According to an IMEU poll, Arab and Muslim voters were far from alone in abandoning the Democrats over Gaza; voters across racial and political demographics did so too. 'Millions of people felt this way. The question is: Why were they not willing to do something that most Democrats support? Why were they unwilling to listen to their own base?' Bendaas asked. James Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute, has spent decades working within the Democratic Party. He believes that Harris' campaign did everything in its power to alienate Arab voters—and that no one should be surprised that it succeeded. As for Trump's comments and the response from some liberal commentators, he thinks the party is getting played: 'This is a distraction,' he said. 'He throws out these absurd, bombastic ideas, knowing they'll dominate the conversation while his administration pushes through devastating policies elsewhere.' Zogby is still active in Democratic leadership and says he is urging insiders not to scapegoat Arab American voters and to try to understand how painful the past year and a half has been for them. 'I do not want to see us marginalized. I told the campaigns, when they would tell me 'It's a binary choice and they'll make the right choice,' I said, 'The 'binary choice' is not going to be the one you think it is. The binary choice is going to be vote or not vote,' and people chose not to vote,' he said. 'I will not accept anyone from my party, the Democratic Party or anyone from the campaign, to put the blame on us. The blame is on them. They created this dilemma. They made it difficult for people to go to the polls. They made it difficult for people to choose the Democratic nominee.' Zogby told me that even so, he's embarking on difficult conversations within his community as well. 'That doesn't mean that we celebrate having brought down Democrats or that we taught them a lesson,' he said. 'This is very painful. This is not an easy situation. And I think we have to understand that and deal with the reality of it. I will fault the campaign, but I'll say we have to think about what just happened.' Layla Elabed, a co-founder of Listen to Michigan and one of the most prominent faces in the 'uncommitted' movement, is observing a similar dynamic at play in the current environment. 'I just don't think what we're seeing on social media and on mainstream media is helpful,' she said. 'It's kind of giving the opposition exactly what they want. 'I don't know anybody who cast a protest vote during the general election who are gloating about it,' she told me. 'The few folks that I talked to that voted third party or skipped the top of the ticket, it wasn't, like, a joyous moment.' She said Democrats still have a lot of work to do and that, indeed, not everyone in these communities regrets their vote, even after this week. 'I've seen folks who feel like they made inroads with the Republican Party and want to continue to organize within that party for their interests, even around Palestine. 'We can go over the mistakes that the Democratic Party made. We can go over the retrospection of movements that were trying to get Democrats to do better,' she added. 'Personally, I am moving toward organizing around racial solidarity because this kind of division that we're seeing right now is only going to serve those who are attacking our civil liberties.'
