Messenger: A call for unity amid rising antisemitism and Islamophobia in America

Tahseen Ahmad, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Hisham Awartani (left to right) took this photo shortly before they were shot, a family representative said.

Institute for Middle East Understanding

CLAYTON — The question from the Jewish man sitting in the Kol Rinah synagogue was based in fear. It was late November, and the synagogue was hosting a panel discussion amid rising antisemitism in the U.S. since the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas and the war that followed.

The room was full of Jewish people, but they realized that it’s not just Jews who are dealing with hate speech and violence. Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias is on the rise, too, providing a one-two punch of hate in the underbelly of American discourse.

The man’s question was about the three Palestinian college students who had been shot in Vermont just two days before, in an incident being investigated as a hate crime. The students survived. One of them is paralyzed from the chest down. A suspect has been arrested. 

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“How do we protect ourselves?” the Jewish man asked.

The panelists were U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming; FBI special agent Jay Greenberg; Scott Biondo, security director for the Jewish Federation of St. Louis; and moderator Jordan Kadosh, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League Heartland.

The answers to the man’s question were a sign of the times. Greenberg compared the situation, where a Jewish or Islamic person is targeted in public, to the all-too rampant shootings in schools.

“Be vigilant,” he said. “Have a plan.”

And when all else fails, he added, “Run, hide, fight.”

Fleming used the opportunity — a Jewish man showing empathy with the Palestinian students who were shot — to connect the dots of hate in America. A few weeks earlier, as part of the Department of Justice’s “United Against Hate” program, Fleming took part of a similar event hosted by the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis.

“They’re the same questions,” Fleming said about the discussion with Muslim leaders. “They’re the same fears.”

Indeed, amid all the attempts in politics and social media discussions to divide Americans into camps, Jews and Muslims after Oct. 7 have dealt with a similar rise in hate against their faith traditions.

“We are both vulnerable sometimes to attacks from society,” says Salmon Syed, chairman of the Islamic Foundation.

He was at the discussion with Fleming and he, too, recognized the common themes of worry and safety among people of divergent faiths.

“There have been a few incidents here and there,” he says, “but for the most part, the St. Louis community has been great … The inter-faith partnership that we have is playing a key role in making sure we have peace and harmony.”

Syed was speaking about the Interfaith Partnership of Greater St. Louis, an organization that brings together people from more than 30 faith traditions to seek common ground and build understanding.

The organization is asking members to tamp down emotions during the difficult conversations since Oct. 7 and to focus on the people who have lost their lives.

“Peace and safety are fundamental human rights entitled to all, Israelis and Palestinians alike,” reads part of the statement from the Interfaith Partnership. “We declare a commitment that we will not permit the conflict to create divisions within our own community. We recognize that this commitment demands much of us, but it is essential if we are to assure that we remain at peace with one another.”

Trying to unite, rather than divide, is easier said than done. But it starts, Greenberg suggests, with an individual commitment to not stir the proverbial pot.

Yes, you have a right to jump into a social media conversation, where one side or another is using divisive language that could be seen as a threat. But sometimes, the FBI agent offered, discretion is the better part of valor.

“If you are the one online who pushes somebody over the edge,” Greenberg asked the crowd at Kol Rinah, “how will you feel?”

At least seven schools across the U.S. are under investigation after alleged incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitism were reported.The probe into possible discriminatory behavior is being carried out on three Ivy League schools, Columbia, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania, along with Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. The Maize Unified School District in Kansas is also part of the list.The U.S. Department of Education has said it would consider withdrawing funding if administrators don’t properly address the issues and comply with recommendations put in place by the federal agency.Civil rights investigations by the Education Department are now focusing on seven schools as the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, causing intensifying tensions between some students and others.The Education Department launched the probes under Civil Rights Act legislation that puts forth a requirement that campuses and leadership at schools must protect students from discrimination. There are at least five cases that stemmed from accusations of antisemitism, with at least two of the investigations being blamed on incidents of Islamophobia, authorities said.Education Secretary Miguel Cardona signaled that officials believe the escalation incidents are at least somewhat alarming. “I think we need to match it with a level of response that meets the moment. We need to be listening to our students. We need to let them know that they will be safe in our schools, that we’re not going to tolerate hate or threats on campus,” he said. SEE MORE: Michigan teen pleads guilty to threatening mass shooting at synagogueThe Department of Education said it would offer another set of recommendations to schools after their investigations have concluded.”If an institution refuses to follow the law to protect students, we would withhold dollars. That said, I haven’t spoken to a college leader that doesn’t want to do everything they can to remedy the situation,” Cardona said.Further details on the federal investigations had not been released by late on Saturday.Last month, at least one arrest was made after a Cornell student was accused of making threats in an antisemitic manner, authorities said. Jewish students at Cooper Union in New York also accused that school of not doing enough to protect them from a perceived threat from a pro-Palestinian demonstration there.”Colleges should be places where students could express themselves. And it’s okay to have different beliefs, and it’s okay to express those different beliefs. But when it becomes a threat to students or when students can’t feel safe walking from their dorm to their classroom because they’re afraid that they’re going to get harmed, that’s unacceptable,” Cardona said.The Department of Education could release a public statement on the agency’s findings and updated recommendations in the coming days or weeks.

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