U.S. Senate resolution honors 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy killed in Chicago-area hate crime
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Friday honoring the life of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadee AlFayoumi of Illinois.
AlFayoumi died after he was stabbed 26 times in front of his mother in October 2023. The boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen, was also stabbed 12 times and survived. The assailant was their 71-year-old Plainfield Township landlord, Joseph Czuba.
Prosecutors said that Czuba attacked them because they were Muslim and that he believed Shaheen "was going to call over her Palestinian friends or family to harm them."
Czuba was charged with one count each of first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery, along with two hate crime counts.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the boy's family claims that Czuba had "violent tendencies, temper, and prejudiced beliefs against Arabs and Muslims."
The Wadee Resolution is aimed at protecting children and families from discrimination and hate based on appearance, dress, and other visible forms of religious or ethnic identity. The resolution was first drafted by the Muslim Civic Coalition weeks after his death.
"It celebrates Wadee's life and Palestinian heritage and counters false narratives of his identity. Since October 2023, there has been a spike in hate crimes resulting in death and serious bodily harm to Palestinian-Americans, including Hesham Awartani, Tahseen Al Ahmed, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Zacharia Doar. These incidents should have been addressed in all Hate Crimes Hearings in Congress, and the false misrepresentation of Palestinian children, community members, and college students should have been halted," a statement from the Coalition said, in part.
The statement went on to read that this resolution honors "the Palestinian Kaffiyeh and the Jewish Yamaka."
The resolution also says it is the duty of elected officials and media to tell the truth without dehumanizing language, that freedom of speech and peaceful protest is a fundamental cornerstone of democracy, and that the United States has zero tolerance for hate crimes.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, who helped lead the Wadee Resolution in the House, said in a statement that it is "an incredibly important step for humanity, for the movement against hate and bigotry, and for this moment."
"We are 12 days from October 7th and 19 days away from the anniversary of Wadee's murder — both dates marked by children torn from their mothers," the statement said.
Last week, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) held a hearing on the rise in hate crimes, specifically the "ongoing and persistent rise in Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate and antisemitism."
Shaheen was at the hearing on Capitol Hill alongside other hate crime survivors. The hearing turned hostile at times, and Republican Senators diverted the focus to foreign policy, Iran, Hamas, and what they said is unchecked antisemitism experienced on college campuses, and never acknowledged Shaneen in the crowd or gave their condolences other on her loss.
Durbin repeatedly tried to get the hearing back on track and apologized to Shaneen for her "devastating loss."