Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett released the following statement:
“This past Saturday just outside Chicago, Wadea Al-Fayoum, a 6-year-old, was stabbed to death—murdered in the place he called home. His mother was also stabbed repeatedly, severely injured by the same attacker. She is still in critical condition with more than a dozen stab wounds.
“The murder of an innocent child can never be justified for any reason. Wadea, a Muslim Palestinian American and his mother came to America in search of a safe place to live in peace and freedom from fear. Unfortunately, the cascade of violence in the Middle East has invigorated hate in this country. It has opened a rift in our society where hate—particularly in the forms of Antisemitism and Islamophobia—is coming to the fore. The sheer brutality and disregard for innocent lives represent an open and unacceptable endorsement of violence.
“Antisemitism and Islamophobia are never acceptable in any form or fashion. I plead for peace in America and abroad, I plead for leaders to think of the innocent children as we hold our own. I ask for vigilance in our communities and respect for all our neighbors.”
