Gaza war fuels rise in Islamophobia in US: Report

By Enes Taha Ersen and Beril Canakci

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the largest Muslim civil rights groups in the US, reported a 7.4% increase in incidents of discrimination and attacks against Muslims following the Israeli war on Gaza.

In a report released Tuesday on incidents last year, CAIR noted that 2024 saw the highest number of complaints on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents, totaling 8,658.

“The US-backed Gaza genocide has triggered a wave of Islamophobia in the US for the second consecutive year,” the report said.

Employment discrimination made up 15.4% of the complaints, followed by immigration and asylum issues at 14.8%.

Complaints involving discrimination against Muslim and Palestinian students accounted for 9.8%, while hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs represented 7.5%.

The report identified Israel’s attacks on Gaza as the primary factor behind the increase in incidents.

It also highlighted that Islamophobia, anti-Arab sentiment, and antisemitism had all surged in the US.

It cited cases where academics resigned under pressure and students were investigated for participating in pro-Palestine protests, arguing that these actions threatened freedom of expression.

The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a US permanent legal resident and recent Columbia University graduate who helped lead an anti-war pro-Palestinian encampment on campus in April 2024, was highlighted as another case of Islamophobic and anti-Arab actions.

The report also referenced the October 2023 stabbing death of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child, with the perpetrator convicted of a hate crime.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 934 Palestinians have since been killed and over 7,000 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.