For many around the world the images and reports out of Israel and Gaza since October have brought anguish and devastation.
“It’s traumatic for both sides — Israeli or Palestinian,” said Christine Mohamed, executive director of the Council for American-Islamic Relations Pittsburgh. “The images and the things that you’re hearing are just traumatizing for all of us. I don’t even have loved ones in that area, but it’s traumatizing for me with some of the images, so I can only imagine what those members of our community are feeling.”
The news has led to an increase in reports of discrimination and hate directed at Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities worldwide. In Pittsburgh, faith and cultural communities are navigating sensitive discussions while also combating discrimination to ensure public safety.
Attacks by the militant group Hamas, from Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7, led to the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, with an estimated 200 taken hostage. Israel’s military response has brought estimated death tolls ranging from at least 11,000 to more than 14,000. Even as efforts to swap hostages and pause fighting continue, the enduring tension and violence in the area ripples outward.
“Just because the war isn’t directly happening here does not mean it does not have an impact here,” said Shawn Brokos, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
Instances of Islamophobia, antisemitism surge
In 2021, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh logged 82 reports of antisemitic incidents and safety concerns. This year, the number has almost tripled to 237 by the end of October.
“It’s very easy to say that there has been a dramatic increase in antisemitic attacks in Pittsburgh since [Oct. 7],” Brokos said.
A Pittsburgh police spokesperson did not provide data on an increase in hate incidents, but said the bureau is working closely with the FBI and faith communities in the city to continuously monitor any acts of violence and hate that may stem from escalations in Gaza and Israel.
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“For obvious reasons, there is heightened awareness and fear in the community, both locally and nationwide, and police encourage everyone to report all crimes or anything of concern,” the police spokesperson wrote in response to questions.
Mohamed said CAIR has seen an increase in Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiments across the country since the events of Oct. 7. Between this date and November 4, CAIR received 1,283 reports, a 216% increase since 2022.
Mohamed said there has been a swell in verbal assaults and profanity directed at community members in public and at schools. She said while many area schools and universities have taken a neutral stance, some have only offered support for Israel, which has made Palestinian and Arab students feel disenfranchised.
The majority of the recent safety concerns involving antisemitism have come from college campuses, according to Brokos, who oversees security for local Jewish organizations and places of worship. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have both seen on-campus activism in response to the war.
“I think there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation among college students, specifically more disinformation, which is intentionally inaccurate information to exploit something,” Brokos said. “But we work closely with Pitt and CMU student organizations and their police, and that has been really great.”
Brokos also said recent events can make it easy to pit groups against one another, but it is important to remember that we are all human.
It’s tempting to feel “that there should be one clear side to support when it is much more complex,” Brokos said. “We also need to all look out for one another, not just the Jewish community.”
The 10/27 Healing Partnership, an organization that provides support for individuals and their loved ones impacted by the October 2018 synagogue shooting and others who experience hate-induced trauma, has posted an anonymous survey inviting observations on respondents’ “internal questions and conflicts” and suggestions for what the organization can do to better support the community.
“Some people may feel worried about antisemitism and personal safety, and yet try and dismiss it because it feels insubstantial compared to the worries of others,” said Maggie Feinstein, executive director of the partnership, in a statement. “However, multiple truths can be true at the same time.”
Mohamed said CAIR has had an interfaith relationship with Pittsburgh’s Jewish community for many years and encourages people from all communities to check in on each other. She met with Rabbi Ron Symons from the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and said their shared concern is “the security and safety within our own hometown.”
“Neither one of us wants to see violence, even if we have disagreements on how things should go on the geopolitical scale,” Mohamed said.
Colleges implementing new reporting and resources
Pitt has noticed an uptick in reports regarding antisemitism and Islamophobia. In an email sent out to the Pitt community, Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Clyde Wilson Pickett noted this rise and encouraged community members to avoid letting “disagreements spill over into hateful rhetoric.”
According to Pitt spokesperson Jared Stonesifer, the university has received “approximately two dozen reports since October 7, many of which are still under investigation. Prior to October 7, we averaged one to three reports per month in 2023.”
Pickett said Pitt wants to emphasize a “proactive strategy and not be reactive,” noting that the majority of dialogue on campus has remained respectful to all communities.
“We are not seeing an increase in ‘hate,’ but we are hearing elevated concern, and we are taking that seriously and being proactive,” Pickett said. Pitt offices, he said, are reaching out to faith communities and ethnic groups and listening to their concerns.
CMU Provost James Garrett Jr. and Vice President of Student Affairs Gina Casalegno released a statement to the campus community about art expression on the campus fence, which has stood as a self-regulating, student-governed space for open expression for over 100 years. Students have painted the fence with words in support of a free Palestine and against antisemitism.
“We acknowledge that, on issues that may divide us, the free expression of some may cause discomfort and concern for others,” the statement read. “As an academic community committed to advancing our educational mission, we must grapple with these tensions.”
Some students say that they have faced discrimination and Islamophobic attacks at the fence and throughout campus. Several students were so concerned that they asked that their names not be published.
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A CMU student who works with pro-Palestine student organizations on campus said their organization, which they asked PublicSource not to name, had never had reports of hate crimes from students until the escalation following Oct. 7.
“There were lots of comments at the fence by considerably older men,” the student said. “They called us everything from baby killers to rapists, the most common is terrorist. … Our police had to escort them away. It was really scary.”
CMU has since created a Campus Climate and Bias Reporting Protocol for reporting incidents of bias, harassment and discrimination.
Peter Kerwin, director of CMU media relations, said in a statement that the university is listening to student leaders and allowing faculty to extend deadlines for exams and papers for students struggling with the crisis.
Students express fear on campus
Deena Eldaour, a Palestinian student at Pitt whose family is originally from Gaza, said she has noticed increased fear on campus among her peers, especially among other women who wear hijab.
“They no longer can walk alone or they always feel like people are staring at them,” Eldaour said.
Eldaour, a board member of Students for Justice in Palestine [SJP], said the majority of the discrimination leveled at her community has taken place at rallies on Pitt’s and CMU’s campuses. She noted that during one such rally on CMU’s campus, an agitator approached the group yelling Islamophobic remarks and asking if protesters were going to “bomb” them.
Another Pitt student, who is Jewish, said there has been a “tense vibe” on campus since the attack and expressed worry about saying anything about Israel. After attending a Jewish student organization meeting soon after Oct. 7, the student recounted, another student came into the meeting shouting and calling attendees “fascist and other names,” the student said.
“This was supposed to be a place for healing and connecting with other Jewish students when we’re in such a vulnerable position,” the student said. “I kind of wished someone had said something [to Pitt administration], but I think everyone was too afraid to.”
The student said that they have always been nervous in Pittsburgh.
“I chose to go to school where the most antisemitic event in [U.S.] history occurred,” the student said. “Until the actual conflict resolves, until there’s a ceasefire, I think it will be tense and simmering under the pot, making people feel bad on both sides.”
A Muslim student at Pitt told PublicSource they were “called terrorists, baby killers” while selling coffee at a Charity Week event for orphans and underprivileged children, and arrived at a meeting room for a gathering of a student organization only to find pro-Israel posters displayed.
“It has been very unsettling over the last few weeks,” the student said.
Pitt has worked to address student safety concerns by staying in contact with student and community leaders, speaking with concerned parents and religious and cultural leaders, coordinating with law enforcement and maintaining security at demonstrations and rallies, according to Stonesifer.
Eldaour said Islamophobic and anti-Arab sentiments have been heightened by people in power who have propped up harmful rhetoric, including President Joe Biden and Pitt’s chancellor. Following the attacks in Israel, Chancellor Joan Gabel released a statement in which she condemned the actions of Hamas calling them “unconscionable, barbaric acts.” It did not mention Palestinian loss of life.
Eldaour said the word “barbaric” has historically been used against Muslims and Arabs, and could encourage harmful rhetoric directed at students on campus.
“I think a lot of the negativity harbored came from that,” Eldaour said.
In response to the email, students at SJP sent the chancellor a letter on Oct. 18 criticizing her use of the word “barbaric” and demanding that Pitt “unequivocally recognize and name the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Dean of Students Carla Panzella addressed the violence and student concern on campus in an Oct. 13 email noting she serves “all students affected by these tragic and horrifying acts, including our Israeli and Palestinian students, some of whom may be uniquely affected.”
Eldaour said it’s “really important” that Jewish, Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian organizations on campus connect. “Hostility,” she said, “is the antithesis of both our movements.”
Response includes increased funding, security
Hateful and threatening incidents have been documented throughout the country on college campuses. At Stanford, an Arab student was the victim of a hit-and-run that is being investigated as a hate crime. At Cornell, a student was arrested for making threats to Jewish students online.
In Vermont, three college students of Palestinian descent were shot on Saturday.
According to a survey of 609 college students by Intelligent, an online magazine, one in five students feel less safe on campus since Oct. 7. Nearly one-third said their mental health has worsened.
The Biden administration on Nov. 14 announced new actions and resources for schools across the country. These include resources on promoting religious inclusion in K-12 schools and in higher education, and a series of webinars for schools.
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The Department of Justice is also awarding more than $38 million in grants to support the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, increase hate crimes reporting, expand victim services and improve community awareness. This includes more than $8 million in grants to community-based organizations and civil rights groups, including awards to organizations serving Jewish and Arab American communities.
Incidents across the U.S., including the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian boy in Chicago and an attack directed at a Muslim teen who wears hijab on the subway in New York, have left many Pittsburgh Muslims afraid to go about their daily activities, Mohamed said.
“We have a lot of work to do to dispel the hate and the misconceptions that currently are happening,” Mohamed said. “It doesn’t help when there’s been so much dehumanizing rhetoric, through the media, through the press, not just over the recent times, but I’m talking about long periods of time, where Muslims and Islam and Arabs may be dehumanized in various ways.”
Recently, there have also been reports and investigations of graffiti which “can be characterized as antisemitic and political in nature” in Squirrel Hill, according to the spokesperson for the Pittsburgh police. The city’s Department of Public Works is assigned to remove the graffiti.
Amro Elaswalli, the imam at the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh, said the mosque has hired more security for gatherings such as Friday prayers, Sunday school and other large events.
In an effort to bring together grieving communities and call for peace, more than 100 students and community members from multiple faiths held a candlelight vigil on Nov. 13 at CMU’s campus, and listened to prayers given by Jewish, Muslim and Christian community leaders.
Elaswalli, who recited a verse from the Qur’an, said it’s important that everyone, regardless of faith and background, come together against violence and war.
“Whoever kills one soul it’s as if they killed all of mankind,” Elaswalli said during the vigil, reading the English translation. “And whoever saves one soul, it’s as if they saved all of mankind. … I hope we can all reflect on this verse. ”
Elaswalli said it’s crucial to work on fighting misinformation and maintaining dialogue across marginalized communities.
“We need to stand up for justice and do our best to make our voices heard,” Elaswalli said. “To be part of the solution and not to be part of the problem.”
A participant at the vigil read a translation of a Jewish prayer, saying it’s important for everyone to recognize the grief and emotions that many are facing right now. Her prayer called for peace and a path forward in which everyone is safe.
“I think there is hope, but I think it’s going to take a very different approach than what we’ve seen,” she said. “I think that it will take a lot of innovative thinking and openness to do something you’ve never been able to do before in the world.”
Resources
If you or someone you know has been a victim of an Islamophobic hate crime or an act of discrimination, submit this anonymous form to have your case reviewed by the CAIR-Pittsburgh civil rights department.
To report an antisemitic or safety incident, visit the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s incident report page.
Anyone is welcome to complete the 10/27 Healing Partnership anonymous survey.
To report incidents of bias related to the respective universities, complete CMU’s report form or Pitt’s form.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to improve the accuracy of characterizations of the synagogue at which the 2018 shooting occurred and of one participant’s involvement in the Nov. 13 vigil.
Erin Yudt is an editorial intern at PublicSource and can be reached at erin@publicsource.org.
Betul Tuncer is a student at the University of Pittsburgh serving as a Pittsburgh Media Partnership intern this semester, and can be reached at betulstuncer@gmail.com.
This story was fact-checked by Tanya Babbar.
