Political Quotes

“Hisham, Kinnan, and Tahseen are all Palestinian college students who were shot while wearing a keffiyeh and speaking Arabic on their way to a family dinner in Vermont. Just weeks ago, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child, Wadea, was stabbed 26 times in a hate crime in Illinois. They had to take the knife out of his body. Mr. Speaker, the constant dehumanization of Palestinians has real consequences. It is fueling anti-Palestinian racism and violence. The dehumanization and rhetoric repeated by many elected officials, many in this Chamber, is inciting violence against Palestinians. My heart goes out to every family affected by violence, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and any form of hate. One of the Palestinian victims who was shot in Burlington, Hisham, wrote: ``This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict. ``Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli Army. The soldier who shot me would go home and never be convicted. . . . Any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine.…”