No hate crime charges after a North Texas Palestinian stabbed in Austin
ARLINGTON — A North Texas Palestinian describes the moment he was stabbed following a pro-Palestine rally at the capitol in Austin on February 4.
"I felt bubbles coming out of my rib. I asked a guy at a stop sign and I was like, 'Am I stabbed, am I stabbed?' And he was saying yeah, you're bleeding a lot, you're bleeding a lot," Zacharia Doar described.
Doar is a 23-year-old Palestinian American from Arlington. He says the alleged attack was filled with racial slurs and describes being pulled from his truck before being stabbed.
"[The] door swung open, he opened it, grabbed my leg and pulled me out," said Doar.
He says he believes he was targeted for the attack based on a scarf that was on display from the truck mirror. One side of the scarf says 'Free Palestine', and the other side is the print of the Kufeya.
Bert James Baker was the man Doar and others identified as the attacker.
A Travis County grand jury indicted Bert Baker Tuesday on aggravated assault charges related to the attack. However, the jury chose not to add a hate crime enhancement as was suggested by police.
Doar and his father say this is the type of hate they say they're facing more and more.
Doar's father, who moved to the U.S. in 1988, says he has had to pass down lessons he's learned on avoiding hate, to all of his children.
"Some people going to look at you different," Nizar Doar said. "Some people are going to treat you different. Just try to be neutral, avoid places that are going to cause any kind of trouble."
Since the Israel/Gaza war began last October, violent incidents against Muslims and Arab Americans have surged. In the last three months of 2023, incidents rose 178% compared to the year before.
In October, a Muslim mother and her 6-year-old son were both stabbed multiple times by their landlord in a Chicago building. The following month, three Palestinian college students were shot and wounded in Vermont after police said they were targeted because they were Palestinian.
Doar says he and his wife feel less safe going out now. And he says he still can't understand that kind of hatred, in a progressive city like Austin.
"[I'm] surprised it happened there, and surprised it happened to me. I would have never imagined that going to Austin that could have been the last day I see my wife, see my son, see my family," said Doar.
Bert Baker has been in jail since his arrest on the day of the incident. No date for his trial has been set.
