CAIR-NY Says Israeli Consul General’s False Claim of ‘Muslim Occupation’ of New York will Prompt More Hate Crimes
Photo Credit: UN Photo/Joao Araujo Pinto
(NEW YORK, NY, 6/29/2024) – The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today said a false claim by the far-right Israeli government’s new consul general that New York is under threat of “Muslim occupation” will likely lead to more hate crimes targeting ordinary Muslims and Arab-Americans.
In an interview with the New York Post, Ofir Akunis, Israeli Consul General in New York, said: “You know what happening in London these days, you know what’s happening in Paris these days and in Malmo, a major city in Sweden? They are under radical Muslim occupation. There are no-go zones and I don’t want to happen here in New York or in other places here in the United States…I’m calling on New Yorkers: wake up before it will be too late!”
SEE: ‘Wake up’: Israel’s new consul general warns of ‘radical Muslim occupation’ – NY Post
“This false ‘wake up’ call is in reality a call to hatred and violence targeting New York Muslims and Arabs, and those perceived to be Muslim and Arab-American,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher. “These false and hate-filled remarks should be repudiated by all political and religious leaders.”
[NOTE: According Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative: “The ‘no-go zone’ is an anti-Muslim conspiracy theory claiming there are areas in Europe and the U.S. with dense Muslim populations that are governed by Sharia law and where police and non-residents are barred from entry. Although it has been debunked by European police officials and news organizations, the idea of the ‘no-go zone’ continues to circulate and is often used to justify anti-immigration and anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric.”]
Earlier this month, CAIR-NY welcomed the arrest of a man who allegedly harassed a Muslim teenager and ripped off her Islamic head scarf, or hijab, and welcomed a hate crime charge brought against a suspect who allegedly attacked a Muslim woman on a subway train platform in April.
CAIR-NY also welcomed an investigation by the NYPD into a possible bias motive in the vandalism of a mosque in Brooklyn.
Earlier this year, CAIR’s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history. Titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the report documented 8,061 complaints. Nearly half of all complaints received in 2023 were reported in the final three months of the year.
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CONTACT:
Afaf Nasher, Esq., Executive Director, anasher@cair.com, 917-669-4006