[News] Statement: Hate crime murder of baby Wadea Al-Fayoume

Tue Oct 17 11:06:13 EDT 2023

Statement: Hate crime murder of baby Wadea Al-Fayoume On October 15th, 
2023, in Plainfield, Illinois, Hanaan Shahin and her six-year-old son 
Wadea Al-Fayoume

  USPCN Statement on the hate crime murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume

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*For Immediate Release:* Monday, October 16th, 2023

*Media contact:* Hatem Abudayyeh, USPCN National Chair, chicago at uspcn.org

On October 15th, 2023, in Plainfield, Illinois, Hanaan Shahin and her 
six-year-old son Wadea Al-Fayoume were mercilessly attacked by their 
landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, in a hate crime targeting their 
Palestinian-Muslim identity. Hanaan is in critical condition in the 
hospital, and we are heartbroken to report that the precious Wadea died 
after being stabbed 26 times by Czuba. Hannan and Wadea had lived on the 
ground floor for two years with no previous notable issues.

According to text messages sent to Wadea’s father by his mother Hanna 
from the hospital, their landlord Czuba had been angry due to the recent 
coverage of Palestine on the news, leading him to knock on their door 
and attack them while yelling, “You Muslims must die!” Hanaan was choked 
and stabbed and escaped to the bathroom to call 911, only to come out of 
the bathroom and find that Czuba had stabbed Wadea 26 times. "It all 
happened in seconds," she texted. Hanaan is currently in critical 
condition in the hospital, fighting for her life.

USPCN offers its most sincere condolences to Hanaan and Wadea’s father 
on the loss of their beautiful child, and we are hoping for Hanaan’s 
full recovery. We also want to make it clear - this attack on Hanaan and 
Wadea, leading to Wadea’s murder, was caused by anti-Palestinian 
sentiment in the U.S. and all over the media this past week. 
Politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, have helped to embolden 
racist beliefs against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims by passing 
anti-Palestinian resolutions, including our own city council members in 
Chicago, and uplifting law enforcement’s calls for “heightened 
awareness” of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims in U.S. neighborhoods.

Every politician that has spoken up in vicious condemnation of the 
Palestinian people and their right to self defense against Israeli war 
crimes has blood on their hands - from Joe Biden and Illinois Governor 
J.B. Pritzker to U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. 
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Palestinians have been called uncivilized, 
terrorists, and animals on news outlets, and that, along with mass 
condemnation from politicians, has created a hostile, racist atmosphere 
that led to this intentional and tragic hate crime.

We know that the U.S. is an imperialist state that was built on white 
supremacy and colonization, and that it is Israel’s biggest ally and 
funder. As U.S. legislators and the media irresponsibly use racist 
rhetoric, audiences all over the country are emboldened to target 
Palestinian and Arab communities, including in so-called blue states 
like Illinois. This propaganda is no different than Trump’s Make America 
Great Again Campaign, which brought out white supremacists who en masse 
attacked Black and other communities of color, leading to mass shootings 
in churches and the murder of immigrants trying to find safety for 
themselves and their families.

Wadea’s murder was caused by news outlets like CNN, the New York Times, 
and others, who have purposely spread fake news about Palestinians to 
their millions of watchers, in an effort to defend Israel’s active 
genocide of Palestinians on the ground. Similar to post 9/11, we are 
seeing a smear campaign being led by the U.S. and the rest of the West, 
including liberals, against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims, which is 
only encouraging violent and de-humanizing hate crimes like the murder 
of Wadea and the stabbing of his mother.

USPCN demands an end to vicious and racist statements about the 
Palestinian people from legislators and the media, and calls for the 
community and allies to be vigilant and organized in defending and 
protecting our people in the U.S.

Wadea Al-Fayoume, ¡Presente! May he Rest In Power!

Until Liberation and Return,

U.S. Palestinian Community  Network (USPCN)
Monday, October 16th, 2023

*Our mailing address is:*
US Palestinian Community Network
c/o WESPAC
77 Tarrytown Road, Suite 2W
White Plains, NY 10607
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