Texas police confirm Palestinian American was stabbed in ‘bias motivated’ attack

By Rabia Ical

WASHINGTON (AA) - Police in Austin, Texas said Tuesday that the weekend stabbing of a 23-year-old Palestinian American man was a "bias-motivated incident."

The Austin Police Department said it is currently investigating the case.

“Based on the information we received, we believe the Feb. 4, 2024 incident to be bias-motivated, and it will be reviewed by the Hate Crimes Review Committee,” they said in a statement.

The victim, identified by his father as Zacharia Doar, was hospitalized and underwent surgery, according to reports.

The suspect was arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail and has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference in Austin, during which it called for hate crime charges to be filed.

In a separate statement after the announcement by Austin police that the incident will be evaluated by the Hate Crimes Review Committee, CAIR said it welcomes the move.

“We welcome the swift recognition of the alleged motive for this attack and call on law enforcement authorities to bring appropriate charges in the case. Every American should be free to express their political views, wear symbols of their culture and practice their faith without fear of attack or intimidation,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement.

CAIR said the suspect, identified by police as Bert James Baker, 36, attacked four young Muslim American men, stabbing one of them. In addition to Doar, two of the men are of Palestinian descent.

Baker “allegedly attempted to rip a flagpole with a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf reading ‘Free Palestine’ off of their car,” added CAIR.

Mitchell noted that CAIR received 3,578 complaints during the last three months of 2023, indicating an ongoing wave of “anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate.”