Last Wednesday, Peabody held a prayer service outside of City Hall in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Mayor Ted Bettencourt described the intention of the event as showing support for both Israel and the city’s Jewish community. He also, like many politicians at both the local and national level, compared Hamas’ attack to 9/11. A lot of people will not think twice about this, and see it as a straightforward connection to make. But this is a much more dangerous allusion than those who are making it probably realize.
It goes without saying that 22 years later, 9/11 remains an extremely painful memory for Americans. For many in this country, it was the single most difficult and traumatic day of their lives. For people like me who were young children when it happened, 9/11 had a psychological impact that I still don’t think is fully understood. Even now, seeing images of the burning World Trade Center when I do not expect them causes a brief shiver to sweep over my body. I don’t know anyone who died in the attacks, and I can’t explain why I have such a physical reaction to only this event. I just do, and for many other Americans, references to 9/11 trigger similar responses.
But for Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans, this trauma is compounded by what they experienced in the aftermath of 9/11. In just the first three days after the attacks, there were more than 300 reports of hate crimes, including insults, assaults, and murder. The FBI recorded a 1,600% surge in anti-Islamic hate crimes in the days after 9/11. This would impact the image of Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans in mainstream media and the public consciousness for years to come.
I remember two incidents especially well. One came when I was in high school, when one of the students in my Spanish class was asked by another if his family had been involved in 9/11. The other came when I was in college and I was writing a profile on a leader of the school’s Muslim Student Association, who told me that his father’s store had been vandalized after the Boston Marathon bombing. These widespread incidents of profiling and prejudice are undeniably a part of the legacy of 9/11 in this country, and comparing it to contemporary events risks inspiring the same hate and violence.
Now, we are seeing more cases of this abuse and violence directed toward Muslim Americans, Arab-Americans, and especially Palestinian-Americans. The horrific murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, and the wounding of his mother by their landlord in Illinois caught the country’s attention, but there have been many other instances. A man in Pennsylvania was arrested after he was accused of pointing a gun at a pro-Palestinian rally. Another man allegedly asked on social media if anyone wanted to go to Dearborn, Mich., which has a large Arab-American population, and “hunt Palestinians.” Closer to home, the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace’s sign had the word “Nazis” spray-painted on it in Boston. It would be naive and unrealistic to suggest that these hate crimes would not have happened without the references to 9/11, but the references are certainly not helping to calm the situation.
Right now, it is very important that local leaders emphasize antisemitism will not be tolerated. There has been a spike in hate crimes against Jewish Americans since this current conflict began as well, and politicians have an obligation to do everything in their power to prevent such abuse and violence. But although there might not be as many Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans in this region as Jewish Americans, their smaller population puts them at a distinct risk. If there is only one Muslim girl in her class or one Arab-American man in his neighborhood, there is unfortunately a higher possibility that they can be singled out, ostracized, bullied, or attacked for their identity. This area’s officials have to ensure that they are also protected and supported in the face of racism and intolerance.
Stuart Foster is The Item’s opinion editor.
