Latest news with #WilfredoAmrRuiz
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Islamophobia is surging in Florida — and it must be addressed
Florida is facing an alarming rise in Islamophobia — one that is reaching unprecedented levels nationwide, according to the findings of the 2025 CAIR Civil Rights Report: Unconstitutional Crackdowns. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, which has a strong presence in Florida, reports it received 8,658 civil rights complaints in 2024 — the highest number ever recorded since it began reporting in 1996. That marks a 7.4% increase from the previous year. Here in Florida, the numbers are even more troubling. Civil rights complaints have risen by 22%, nearly three times the national rate. Even more disturbing: for the first time in CAIR-Florida's 24-year history, the leading cause of complaints is viewpoint discrimination. Many of these complaints, which spiked following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel's subsequent bombing of Gaza, reflect a dangerous trend: individuals who criticize Israeli government policies, express solidarity with Palestinians or condemn alleged war crimes in Gaza are being accused of antisemitism or even terrorism. These accusations are not only defamatory — they're dangerous. In Florida, the consequences have been severe. Peaceful student protesters have faced disciplinary action. Dozens of physicians have lost their jobs. Attorneys have been dismissed from law firms. Others have been doxxed — had their private information maliciously shared online to intimidate or silence them. We must recognize the human toll. Like many Israeli-American families who split time between homes in the U.S. and Israel, hundreds of Palestinian-American families in Florida live between here and Palestine. The ongoing war in Gaza has left many of them grieving the loss of fathers, mothers, siblings, nephews and nieces. Others have watched loved ones maimed. But in today's climate of censorship and retaliation, their grief is often unheard. Many fear for their safety, livelihoods and businesses if they speak out. This is not a Muslim issue. It is a civil rights issue. And it affects peace advocates and civil liberties organizations of all backgrounds. I, Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, write this not only as a Muslim civil rights leader, but also as a proud U.S. military veteran. I served in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps and later in the Chaplain Corps. There, I wore the same uniform as Christian priests, Jewish rabbis, Muslim imams and others who served our diverse military community. We stood together to defend the U.S. Constitution — all of it. We believe that criticism of a government's policies — including those of the state of Israel — is not antisemitism. Conflating the two does a disservice to the Jewish community, whose legitimate experiences with antisemitism risk being diluted when political critique is mislabeled as hate. Then, on Feb. 15, our community was shaken when an Israeli man allegedly opened fire on a father and son on Miami Beach simply because he believed them to be Palestinian, police said. Mordechai Brafman, 27, was charged with attempted murder and faces hate crime charges punishable by life in prison. To this day, there has been no public statement from Miami Beach or state leaders reassuring Palestinian or Arab residents of their safety. It's as if simply uttering the words 'Palestinian' or 'Arab' has become taboo. Every year, we honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We commemorate the very rights now under attack — the right to protest, to oppose war, to call for peace, to boycott and to dissent. These are constitutional rights. Sacred rights. And they will not be silenced easily. Despite the current challenges, there is hope. Across Florida and beyond, people of all backgrounds are rising in solidarity. They are standing tall — peacefully and unapologetically — to defend justice and civil liberties for all. They know that silence is not an option. Wilfredo Amr Ruiz is CAIR-Florida's communications director. Samir Kakli is the director of the South Florida Muslim Federation.
Middle East Eye
17-02-2025
- Middle East Eye
Two Israelis shot in Miami by man who thought he was targeting Palestinians
A man who was reportedly hunting Palestinians was arrested over the weekend after shooting two Israelis in Miami Beach, mistaking them for Palestinians. Mordechai Brafman, 27, was detained on Saturday night and faces two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Surveillance footage showed Brafman's truck making a U-turn, stopping directly in front of a vehicle, exiting his truck and shooting at two people inside the vehicle. He shot at the vehicle 17 times with a semi-automatic handgun, the arrest report stated. One of the victims was wounded in the shoulder, while the other suffered a graze wound on the forearm. Brafman, described by Israeli outlet Ynet as a "Florida Jew", was arrested shortly after the shooting. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to the arrest report, Brafman told police in an interview: "While I was driving my truck, I saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both." Neither of the victims were killed, and the police said they were visitors from Israel. Citing a local Instagram account that posts about Jewish life, the Miami Herald reported that the victims were an Israeli father and son. Police confirmed that the victims had no prior connection to Brafman. 'Hate crime charges' The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) called for federal hate crime charges to be brought following the shooting. "We urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to bring hate crime charges in this case based on the alleged perpetrator's statements to police that reportedly indicate an anti-Palestinian motive," Cair's Florida communications director Wilfredo Amr Ruiz said. 'It is the alleged shooter's reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case' - Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, CAIR "It is the alleged shooter's reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the actual ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case." There has been a marked spike in Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian attacks in the United States since war broke out in Gaza 16 months ago. In October 2023, a six-year-old Palestinian-American was fatally stabbed 26 times and his mother seriously wounded in Illinois, in an attack officials say was linked to the Israel-Palestine war and because they identified as Muslim. Wadea al-Fayoume, a six-year-old boy, was stabbed 26 times and had a 12-inch serrated military knife with a seven-inch blade lodged in his body. Two months later, three Palestinian-American college students were speaking Arabic and wearing keffiyehs, a scarf synonymous with Palestinian solidarity, and were en route to dinner when they were shot by a gunman in Burlington, Vermont. One of them is now paralysed from the chest down and may not be able to walk again.
