Three U.S.-Palestinians Shot in Possible Hate Crimes

Updated Nov. 27, 2023, 11:30 a.m. EST

• Three U.S. students of Palestinian descent were shot near the University of Vermont on Saturday. 
• An investigation was opened to determine whether the shooting was a hate crime. 
• The suspect, Jason J. Eaton, was taken into custody and is expected to appear in court on Monday. 
• All three 20-year-old men — Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ahmed, and Kinnan Abdalhamid — survived the shooting and are receiving medical care. According to the Burlington Police Department, one "sustained much more serious injuries" than the others.  
• The trio attended Ramallah Friends School together, a non-profit Quaker school. Awartani is a current student at Brown University in Rhode Island, Ahmed attends Trinity College in Connecticut, and Abdalhamid attends Haverford College in Pennsylvania. They had just left one of their family's homes when they were shot. A family member said they had attended an 8-year-old's birthday party.
• Officers investigating the shooting said the victims were wearing keffiyeh, a traditional scarf, and speaking Arabic when attacked, highlighting this as a possible motive.  
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on X:

"It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, Vermont. Hate has no place here, or anywhere."

Updated Nov. 9, 2023, 2:00 p.m. EST

• Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man in Ventura County, California, died when he hit his head during a clash between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Authorities have said the incident was isolated but have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.
• France has recorded over 1,000 antisemitic acts since Oct. 7, and 486 people have been arrested for these offenses thus far. 
• The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it has received 774 reports of bias incidents and requests for help from Muslims across the U.S. since the Hamas attack on Israel, representing a 182% increase over every 16-day period in 2022.
• A Muslim student at Stanford University was hit in a hit-and-run that is being investigated as a hate crime. The victim told police that the driver "made eye contact with him" and yelled "**** you and your people" before driving away.
• Antisemitic incidents in Britain have reached their highest number since the charity Community Service Trust (CST) began tracking hate crimes in 1984. They have recorded over 1,000 separate incidents, including 47 assaults. Director of Policy Dave Rich at CST said:

"The milestone of 1,000 antisemitic incidents since 7 October is a shocking indictment of the level of anti-Jewish hatred happening right now in our country. It is even more appalling when you remember that this wave of antisemitism began as a reaction to a terror attack on Israel that caused the largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust."

Updated October 23, 2023, 4:00 p.m. EST

• French police recorded over 320 physical acts of antisemitism and made over 180 arrests in the first 10 days of the Israel-Gaza war. In Carcassonne, the words “killing Jews is a duty” were graffitied outside a stadium.
• In Berlin, several buildings were spray painted with the Star of David, an act of antisemitic intimidation. A spokesperson from the Central Council of Jews said:

“That is, of course, a particularly painful thing to do in Germany, as it echoes back very directly to the ostracizing of Jews that took place in the 1930s.”

• In Toronto, there have been 14 reports of hate crimes since the Hamas attacks. Of the 14 reported incidents of hate crimes, 12 were related to antisemitism.

Updated October 18, 2023, 5:00 p.m. EST

• Early Wednesday morning, two assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in the center of Berlin, Germany. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the assault, saying:

“We will never accept when attacks are carried out against Jewish institutions.”

• The Central Council of Jews said:

“We are all shocked by this terrorist attack. Hamas’ ideology of extermination against everything Jewish is also having an effect in Germany.”

• The Palace of Versailles and three airports in Lyon, Toulouse, and Lille closed temporarily due to security concerns. The airports shut due to emailed threats, but they did not elaborate further on the exact nature of the dangers. France remains under a heightened threat alert level, enabling the authorities to add 7,000 soldiers to the 3,000 already circulating the streets.
• In Orange, California, flyers filled with antisemitic rhetoric were left in neighborhoods and on vehicles.
• In Pennsylvania, a man was charged after police say he pointed a gun and yelled slurs at attendees of a pro-Palestinian rally. 
• In Boston, the word “Nazis” was spray-painted on the sign for the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace.
• Abed Ayoub, from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said:

“There’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in everything that’s happening. It’s very reminiscent of the early days of post-9/11, where people didn’t want to go outside, they didn’t want to send their kids to school.”

What's the story?

• The controversial debate over the war between Israel and Hamas has erupted in protests worldwide.
• Hundreds of thousands of people are rallying for either side across cities and university campuses in Asia, Europe, and the U.S., some dueling in protest. 
• Western governments have been strong in their support for Israel, prompting an outcry from many pro-Palestine and leftist groups, and Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Some have been in opposition to Israel, while others have been in support of Hamas. 

Campus protests

• In New York City, students at Columbia University gathered on the main quad — one side showing support for Israel and the other showing support for Palestine. The two groups stood just yards apart. A similar scene unraveled in Times Square. 
• Universities across the U.S. are receiving criticism from their student body for either their silence, backing of Israel, or support of Palestine. Student groups at Harvard University issued a statement blaming Israel's policies for the massacre of civilians, which led to backlash from alums. 
• Professor Zachary Lockman at New York University said these debates are nothing new, but they are intensified right now. He said among students, the conflict translates into "deepening polarization, and very little common ground." He explained that the debate is framed on social media as:

"They're either with us or against us."

Global rallies

• Jewish communities in France and the U.S. held rallies on Friday in solidarity with Israel. 
• In Turkey, crowds gathered to protest Israel and stand with Hamas. 
• Demonstrators in Rome held a large Palestinian flag overhead. Rallies were held in other European cities, including Berlin, Denmark, and Braband. 
• Germany and France banned pro-Palestinian rallies due to public safety concerns. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said any organization of protests would lead to arrests. He added:

"Pro-Palestinian demonstrations must be prohibited because they are likely to generate disturbances to the public order."

• In Baghdad, tens of thousands of Iraqis protested Israel in Tahrir Square, burning the blue and white flag and chanting anti-U.S. and anti-Israel cries. The protests were called by the influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. 
• Iran, whose government supports Hamas, held state-organized rallies in support of the militant group. 
• Citizens of Yemen carried large Palestinian flags during a demonstration in the capital, Sana'a. 
• Protesters of Israel shouted in Japan:

"Israel, terrorist. Free Palestine."

• In Sri Lanka, demonstrators held signs that said:

"Palestine you will never walk alone."

• Around 1,000 Muslims rallied in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after Friday prayers to show solidarity with Palestinians and condemn Zionism. More protests took place in Afghanistan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cape Town, Chile, Egypt, Jordan, the Kashmir region of India, Spain, and more. 

How do you feel about the global response? 

-Jamie Epstein & Emma Kansiz

(Photo credit: Dave Decker/Creative Loafing)