US President Joe Biden has unveiled a new plan to combat the rise of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hatred that has worsened since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war. The 64-page strategy, published on Thursday, emphasized the need for immediate and sustained efforts to reduce discrimination and prejudice.
Strategy comes first President Donald Trump opening During his first term, Trump imposed a travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries — a policy that Biden reversed on his first day in office.
In the report’s preface, Biden highlighted the case of six-year-old Wadea al-Fayoumeh, a Palestinian-American boy killed in 2023, and described it as a “disgusting act”. He noted an increase in hate crimes, discrimination and threats against Muslims and Arabs, calling such behavior “wrong and unacceptable.” Reuters.
“Muslims and Arabs deserve to live with dignity and enjoy all their rights as full Americans,” Biden wrote. “Discriminatory policies harm communities and fail to protect us”, Reuters Reported.
The new strategy is similar to the 2023 Anti-Semitism Plan. However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent Muslim civil rights group, criticized it as “too little, too late.” The group urged the administration to eliminate federal watchlists and “no-fly” lists that disproportionately target Arab and Muslim Americans.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team has not commented on the new strategy. Trump recently called plans to ban entry to the U.S. and revoke foreign student visas for those who question Israel’s right to exist “semitic.”
Tensions have risen on American campuses since the October attacks by Hamas in Israel. 7, human rights groups warned of rising anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab hatred.
(Including information from Reuters)
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