A few days after the Hamas attacks, Joseph Czuba, a 71-year-old ex-soldier, entered his tenants, a family of Palestinian origin in the suburbs of Chicago, shouting “you Muslims, you must die.” He stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death with 26 stab wounds and seriously injured his mother. Beyond this extreme tragedy, the war between Israel and Hamas is causing tensions in the United States where some 3.5 million Americans of Arab origin live, including more than 170,000 Palestinians. Since the massacres of October 7, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), the largest Muslim organization, has received more than 770 complaints of attacks, harassment, discrimination… In the New York subway, a man tore off the headscarf of a high school student by calling her a terrorist. During a pro-peace protest in Pennsylvania, an armed individual shouted Islamophobic slurs at the crowd. And the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) had to change the location of its annual gala, the Washington Hotel, where it was to be held after receiving threats.
This climate is reminiscent of the wave of Islamophobia, after the attacks of September 11, 2001. “But the phenomenon did not last, recalls Nihad Awad, the director of Cair. The Americans quickly understood that Muslims had nothing to do with it and political leaders intervened to defend them and prevent them from becoming scapegoats. Today, the support is not the same. I have not received a call from the White House. administration, elected officials, the media have all adopted Israel’s discourse which dehumanizes the Palestinians and creates a climate of hatred”, he argues, even if the reality is more nuanced.
For the moment, public opinion largely supports the Jewish state and Joe Biden’s policies. According to a poll, 61% of voters say their sympathies are with the Israelis, 20 points more than in 2021. Young people, however, are significantly less enthusiastic: 51% of 18-34 year olds are opposed to sending aid military to the Hebrew State. The controversies are multiplying. 92NY, a famous Jewish cultural center in New York, canceled a lecture by writer Viet Thanh Nguyen who signed a petition calling on Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza. A decision which sparked an outcry and led to a boycott of the center by several authors.
The situation is particularly explosive on university campuses. At Harvard, a coalition of around 30 student groups published a letter deeming Netanyahu’s government “fully responsible” for current events. In retaliation, an outside conservative organization plastered their name and photo on a billboard in front of the university. A financial billionaire and other big bosses have asked for a list of signatories in order to “blacklist” them. At the University of Pennsylvania, donors want the head of the president who authorized a conference of Palestinian writers.
In Congress, although traditionally committed to Israel, 55 elected Democrats in a rare act of dissent signed a letter saying that they were “deeply concerned” about the siege of Gaza and asked Joe Biden to use his influence to limit the victims civil. Thirteen others introduced a resolution calling for “immediate de-escalation and a ceasefire.” The Gaza conflict even shakes the administration. Josh Paul, a senior State Department official, resigned to protest “blind support” for the Jewish state that leads to “destructive and unjust” decisions.
Within the Muslim community, “I mostly see anger and frustration,” notes Sally Howell, director of Arab-American studies at the University of Michigan. “In recent years, Muslims in Michigan have been very involved in politics, supporting the Democratic governor… But they feel like they have been abandoned after her pro-Israel statements and that is a shock.” Nihad Awad is very clear: “President Biden has betrayed the Muslim community. We are not going to vote for him again.” Which could have a disastrous effect in key states where the vote is decided by a handful of votes.