Houston Muslim and Palestinian community demand end to violence in Gaza
HOUSTON - The Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza blames an Israeli airstrike for a blast at a hospital that killed hundreds. The Israeli military denied involvement, saying it was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket. But the bombardment, in response to the Hamas attack in southern Israel, has leveled much of the region and left thousands dead. Houston's Muslim community is demanding an end to it.
On any given day, in Gaza, Palestinians comb through the rubble of a bombed building, looking for survivors. They are paying the price for the Hamas leadership, in Gaza, that ordered the October attack on Israel that left more than 1400, mostly civilian, deaths. Israel's punishing response has left Palestinians in the crosshairs.
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The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or "CAIR", is pleading for a cease-fire in Gaza. "This week has been rough for everyone watching the news," says CAIR-Houston director William White, "Especially rough when you have family or friends or people that you care about, in the midst of it all."
At a Houston press conference, that did not take media questions, the group is sounding an alarm to what they say is an increase in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate, and an indifference toward their experience. "This dehumanization campaign that's being waged to justify a genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza, has come home to roost," says Mohammed Hisam of the Palestinian American Cultural Center.
The point is illustrated by a terrible attack over the weekend in suburban Chicago, where police charged a 71-year-old man with a hate crime and murder, saying he stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death, and seriously injured the child's mother, because of their Muslim faith and the violence in Israel. CAIR-Houston fears it's just the beginning, citing instances of hostility that may get worse if unchecked.
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"Words matter; propagating hate against innocent Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs matter," says Houston social worker and activist Amina Ishaq, "It has consequences, and no life should be at risk because of this vicious cycle of hate and misinformation."
President Biden will visit Israel, in a show of solidarity and to address the growing humanitarian crisis, in Gaza. It comes ahead of an expected ground invasion, by Israeli forces, into the territory while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled a scheduled meeting with the president, prompted by the Gaza hospital blast.
Tensions there, and here, seem desperate for calmer minds.