The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) met earlier this week with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and representatives from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), Maristan, Muslim Student Association West, as well as local elected officials, professors, students, and advocacy organizations at the DLA Piper Law Firm in San Francisco.
The meeting was held to discuss incidents of hate that Muslims, Palestinians, and Arabs throughout California have experienced since the recent tragic events in Gaza.
Islamophobic/anti-Palestinian rhetoric and hate incidents targeting Muslim and Arab communities have been on the rise across the country—most notably, the murder of six-year-old Palestinian American boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, by his family’s landlord last weekend in Chicago.
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Yesterday, CAIR’s national office said it has received 774 complaints, including reported bias incidents, since the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine on Oct. 7.
CAIR-SFBA has received numerous direct reports of hate incidents, including a Burlingame woman, who was verbally assaulted and spat at as she walked along a residential street.
A major concern among meeting participants was the impact of doxxing on advocates and anyone who has made statements of support for Palestine. They asked Attorney General Bonta to enforce California laws that prohibit doxxing.
CAIR California—which has additional offices in the Greater Los Angeles Area, Sacramento Valley/Central California, and San Diego—has also received reports of hate and bias, including an employee who was fired after his boss overheard him stating he was going to send money to relief organizations to support his family in Palestine. Others have reported being verbally threatened and physically assaulted.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Managing Attorney Brittney Rezaei said:
“We thank Attorney General Rob Bonta for meeting with our community. His willingness to engage with us demonstrates a commitment to addressing the rise in Islamophobia and hate incidents that deeply concern us. The dangers and threats are real, and our community is on edge. We thank him for his dedication to understanding and working toward a safer and more inclusive California.”
At the meeting, Attorney General Bonta committed to having the California Department of Justice work with state law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety and security of Muslims and all communities in California.