Complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian discrimination and hate in the U.S. rose by about 180% in the three months after Oct. 7 following Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-governed Gaza, an advocacy group said on Monday.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Rights advocates have noted a rise in Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian bias in the U.S. and elsewhere since the eruption of war in the Middle East. Among incidents in the U.S. that raised alarm were a November shooting in Vermont where three students of Palestinian descent were shot and the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American child in Illinois in October.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said on Monday it has received 3,578 complaints during the last three months of 2023, amid what it called "an ongoing wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate."
The figure is a 178% rise from complaints in the same period from a year earlier.
Complaints of employment discrimination led the list with 662 instances; hate crimes and hate incidents were reported 472 times; and education discrimination 448 times, the organization said.
Earlier this month, the Anti-Defamation League said that in the three months after Oct. 7, U.S. antisemitic incidents rose by 360% compared to the prior year.
CONTEXT: US SECURITY ALERTS
The U.S. Justice Department is monitoring rising threats against Jews and Muslims amid the conflict. President Joe Biden has condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia.
