#Speeches | Schools | Unversities

[xtruss]

Anti-Muslim Incidents Climbed Sharply Last Year, Civil Rights Group Says

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Reported a Surge in Complaints.

— By Nadine El-Bawab | April 2, 2024 | ABC News

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside Radio City Music Hall ahead of a fundraiser for President Joe Biden, on March 28, 2024, in New York. Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images

There was a huge surge in anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2023, the highest number of such incidents recorded in 30 years, according to the Council of American-Islamic Relations, the U.S.'s largest Muslim civil rights organization.

CAIR received a large number of complaints over anti-Muslim incidents last year, nearly half of which were reported in the last three months alone, after the Israel-Gaza war began on Oct. 7.

The group received a total of 8,061 complaints in 2023. The most common complaints CAIR received in 2023 were over immigration and asylum, 20% of all complaints, followed by employment discrimination, 15%; education discrimination, 8.5%; and hate crimes and incidents, 7.5%, according to the CAIR's annual civil rights report.

The surge in complaints comes one year after CAIR had marked a decline in the number of complaints it received -- just over 5,000 in 2022 versus 6,720 in 2021.

"As we wrote then, the report's findings could be considered a return to a 'pre-Trump administration baseline,' an indication of progress made toward mitigating the impact of Islamophobia in the US," according to the report.

"However, what was then welcomed as a 'positive sign' for the future of Muslim civil rights and civil liberties quickly disappeared as anti-Muslim hate resurged across the country in the final quarter of 2023," according to the report.

While the number of anti-Muslim bias incidents were at their highest recorded number in CAIR's history in 2023, the group did not track incidents in 2009 to 2013 or in 2018 and 2019.

CAIR received a record-high number of complaints last year. Council on American-Islamic Relations

The rise in anti-Muslim complaints comes as antisemitic hate crimes are also on the rise.

Antisemitic hate crimes rose 25% from 2021 to 2022, according to statistics released by the FBI. Officials have also warned that there has been a rise in antisemitism after the Hamas attack, part of an ongoing increase around the world.

An increase in both antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes was seen in America's largest and most diverse city, New York, after Oct. 7, as well, according to police statistics.

There were 11 confirmed anti-Muslim hate crimes in New York City from Oct. 7, 2023, to Dec. 30, 2023, according to the NYPD, and 26 confirmed antisemitic hate crimes over the same time period -- a total of one anti-Muslim hate crime every 7.7 days, and one antisemitic hate crime every 3.3 days. There were just five confirmed anti-Muslim hate crimes from Jan. 1, 2023, to Oct. 6, 2023, according to the NYPD, and 49 confirmed antisemitic hate crimes (one every 5.7 days) over the same time period.

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 73,000 others have been injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, amid Israel's ongoing ground operations and aerial bombardment of the strip, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,200 people in Israel and taking 253 others hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Nearly half of the complaints received last year were reported in the last three months. Council on American-Islamic Relations

Among the alleged hate incidents documented in the report was the stabbing murder of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea Al-Fayoume, with his landlord in Chicago accused of the murder. According to his mother, the landlord yelled "you Muslims must die" before attempting to choke and stab her.

The landlord has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

In another incident, a Georgia teacher allegedly threatened to beat and behead a seventh grade Muslim student after the student asked about the teacher's Israeli flag, according to the CAIR report.

Speech at Schools and Universities

Employers, universities and schools were among the "primary actors suppressing free speech by those who sought to vocally oppose Israeli's genocidal onslaught on Gaza and call attention to Palestinian human rights," according to the report.

According to CAIR, employers reportedly fired employees who express political speech in support of Palestinian rights and threatened not to hire students who do the same.

In this Oct. 17, 2023, file photo, mourners attend a vigil for Wadea Al-Fayoume at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Illinois. Nam Y. Huh/AP

One such example given in the report was the reported firing of Dr. Maha Almasri, a Palestinian American woman, from her tutoring job in Florida. She said she was fired and her son was expelled from a private school after she criticized the Israeli government's military response in Gaza in posts on social media, according to the report.

A Muslim teacher in Maryland was reportedly placed on administrative leave due to her expressed support for Palestinians in her email signature, despite other teachers having political speech in their signatures, according to the report. Prior to being placed on leave, an unknown individual allegedly tore her Palestinian flag from her car, the report said.

CAIR filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in December on behalf of the teacher.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside Radio City Music Hall ahead of a fundraiser for President Joe Biden, on March 28, 2024, in New York. Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images

The report also pointed to universities' suspension of student chapters of National Students for Justice in Palestine as evidence of suppression of pro-Palestinian speech on college campuses.

The chancellor of the state university system of Florida issued an order deactivating all Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at public universities in the state, claiming the student groups provided "material support" to the terrorist group Hamas -- a claim the groups denied and that he later walked back. This prompted a lawsuit from CAIR challenging the order.

In this Jan. 25, 2024, file photo, Harvard students take part in a demonstration in support of Palestinians on the steps of the Widener Library in Harvard Yard, in Cambridge, Mass. The Washington Post via Getty Images

College campuses, like Harvard University, have been at the center of debate over the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent the bombing of Gaza. Harvard students were put under a national spotlight after a group of student groups led by the Palestine Solidarity Committee issued a statement in October on the conflict saying that the Israeli regime is "entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."

"Today's events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to 'open the gates of hell,' and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel's violence," the Harvard student groups said in their statement last year.

In response to the statement, a conservative organization called Accuracy in Media launched a doxxing campaign -- releasing personal and private information about individuals online without their consent -- against students in groups that signed onto the letter. The organization also paid for a truck on campus displaying names and faces of students with a banner labeling them as "Harvard's Leading Antisemites."

There was a surge in anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2023, the highest number of such incidents recorded in 30 years, according to the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country's largest Muslim civil rights organization.

CAIR received a large number of complaints over anti-Muslim incidents last year, nearly half of which were reported in the last three months alone, after the Israel-Gaza war began on Oct. 7.

Pro-Palestinian students have since filed a civil rights complaint against Harvard, demanding an investigation. The Department of Education has launched a probe into Harvard for discrimination in response.

"We support the work of the Office of Civil Rights to ensure students' rights to access educational programs are safeguarded and will work with the office to address their questions," Jason Newton, director of media relations and communications at Harvard, said in a statement to ABC News.

Recommendations

In its report, CAIR also called on Congress to enhance anti-doxxing laws and place boundaries on the dissemination of peoples' private information with the intent to cause them harm.

"Doxxing has been employed to intimidate and silence pro-Palestinian advocates, often falsely reframing their legitimate critiques of Israeli state policy and calls for human rights for Palestinians as inherently hateful and therefore reprehensible speech. Such attempts at online harassment have in many cases succeeded in intimidating students and employees, who have experienced repercussions to their educational and career prospects due to doxxing," the report said.

In its recommendations, CAIR called on the U.S. government to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and adhere to the International Court of Justice's ruling ordering Israel to take measures to prevent genocidal acts and provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

CAIR also called on the Biden administration and Congress to require local law enforcement agencies to submit complete data on hate crime incidents targeting minority communities.

In a statement days after the Hamas attack, the Biden administration said "any hate crime is a stain on the soul of America."

President Joe Biden denounced the killing of Al-Fayoume saying, "We can't stand by and stand silent when this happens," in an Oval Office address.

"We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia," Biden said.

#Muslims #Muslims in America 🇺🇸 #Anti-Muslim Incidents #Sharply | Climbed #Rights Group Says #The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) #Pro-Palestinian 🇵🇸 Protests | Protesters #Anti-Muslim Bias Complaints #Speeches | Schools | Unversities #Recommendations #ABC News 🗞️

[earlorguk]

R.I.P. Pat Gooldy

Pat Gooldy and Leland K Meitzler – photo taken in Illinois a few years back.

My dear friend, Pat Gooldy, passed away in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 15, 2018. Pat and her husband, Ray, spent many years as the proprietors of Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe. I would visit with them when we attended the many conferences over the years – and usually ended up going out to eat with them after we got packed up. Even though they were much older than I, Ray and Pat would ALWAYS stick around the exhibit hall and help me pack up after the function was over.

Ray and Pat did a lot of publishing of genealogy records, as well as how-to guides, during the pre-internet era. Many of their titles became obsolete with the internet revolution, as most of their transcribed records are now online – often available at no charge. But during all those years before the internet, the Gooldy’s materials were of prime importance to genealogists everywhere. Besides publishing, Pat was a great teacher. She taught elementary school for most of her life, and would teach genealogy classes at seminars and conferences on the weekend.

Ray and Pat operated Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe from 1974, and exhibited at conferences all over the mid-west (and often further) until Ray’s death. David Carroll (Pat’s grandson) would often drive their van, and help set up and tear down the booth. David looked after his grandmother as Pat continued to operate the business, gradually cutting back until she was only selling her products on the internet. The website, http://yogs.com/, is still online, but I understand that its functionally isn’t fully operational any longer.

Ray passed away the 29th of July 2002, and is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Ellettsville, Monroe County, Indiana. Pat was buried there on December 20, 2018.

The following is copied directly from the bio page at the YOGS.com website. I am including the info in its entirety here, as I’ve got a pretty good idea that this info will disappear once the website goes away – which I’m sure it will. Whatever happens, I’d like the memory of Pat and Ray to live on in some way. R.I.P – Pat and Ray.

Pat and Ray Gooldy

Pat is a retired elementary school teacher, having received her bachelor’s degree from The Unversity of Indianapolis and her master’s at Butler University. She specializes in the design and introduction of new forms/charges as well as the indexing, compiling and editing genealogical records.

She has compiled and edited, with Charles M. Franklin, the Index to Testators of Indiana Wills to 1880. Her talk on “21 Things” has been so well received, she has compiled the charts that illustrate it into a booklet used by many instructors in basic courses for fledgling genealogists. As an Alumna of the National Archives Institute on Genealogical Research, she took on the project of editing and publishing The Lost Soldiers 1784-1811 with Barbara Wolfe; who compiled it from the original seventeen rolls of microfilm. Pat’s geographical area of interest is Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and other “feeder states” into the Old Northwest Territory.

Her favorite ancestor is the lady who was fined a penny for verbal abuse {and threats of physical mayhem) to another “lady” making unwelcome overtures to her husband. Ray retired from the U.S. Army in June of 1972 after over twenty years of service. He is a native Hoosier from Ellettsville, Monroe County, Indiana. He moved to Indianapolis after he and Pat were married in May of 1968. Ray graduated from Ellettsville High School before he entered the army. Ray has edited and published The Index to Mexican War Pension Applications by Barbara Wolfe. He is also co-author, with Pat of The Manual for Indiana Genealogical Research, Manual for Illinois Genealogical Research and The Directory of Illinois Genealogical Societies. He has also compiled Kentucky, a Brief Genealogical Guide, An Aid in Researching the Bluegrass State and Researching Church Records in America, an aid to genealogists for finding their ancestors by use of church records. His special interests are genealogical instruction, newspaper research, and the Old Northwest Territory.

Both Pat and Ray are graduates of the National Archives Institute on Genealogical Research and the Kentucky State Archives Institute on Genealogical Research. They have both been appointed as Honorary Kentucky Colonels by the governor of Kentucky for their work in preserving Kentucky genealogical records. They are listed in Who’s Who in America for their contributions in the field of genealogy.

Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe now publishes over 500 titles in the field of genealogy research publications and has forms, charts and maps to aid genealogists in their research. Their website features surname indexes for most of their publications.

OBITUARY OF WALTER RAYMOND “Ray” GOOLDY May 4, 1932 – July 29, 2002 Walter R. “Ray” Gooldy, 70, of Indianapolis, IN died early Monday, July 29, 2002, at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, IN. Born May 4, 1932 in Ellettsville, IN, he was the son of Donovan Oral and Catherine Lois (Frantz)Gooldy.

A retired Army Veteran of over twenty years service, he had served more than twelve years in Germany, two years in Korea and two and one half years in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He retired in June of 1972.

He and his wife owned and operated Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe in Indianapolis. He had written seven books to assist genealogists, given hundreds of speeches, and furnished commercial displays for seminars all over this country from Florida to California and from Minnesota to Texas. He was a member of many genealogy organizations including the Association of Professional Genealogists. He was a founding member of the Franklin Twp.(Marion County, IN) Historical Society and the Indiana Genealogy Society.

He was appointed a “Kentucky Colonel” by the Governor of Kentucky for his service in the publishing of over 150 books on Kentucky County Records. Among many awards he especially prized and felt honored by was the Illinois Genealogical Society’s award for service on behalf of Illinois genealogists.

Survivors include his wife, Patricia Van Treese Gooldy of Indianapolis; one daughter, Sherida Lynn Altman of Oregon; two brothers, Roger Gooldy of Michigan and Jerry Gooldy of Ohio; one sister Alice Finley of Indiana; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and one daughter, Donna Rae Mowbray.

Services were held at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2002, at Chandler Funeral Home in Ellettsville, IN. Burial was at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Ellettsville where military graveside rites were conducted by the Veteran’s Honor Guard. On that day Ray became one of six straight-line generations of Gooldys buried in that cemetery which is located just 200 feet west of the land on which he grew up the 1930s through the 1950s.

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