Peter Welch: “on November 25, 2023, three Palestinian American students--Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali…”

“on November 25, 2023, three Palestinian American students--Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad--were shot by a local resident while they were walking along a quiet street in Burlington, VT. The three friends had gone to Burlington to celebrate Thanksgiving with Hisham's uncle and grandmother, who lives there. Instead, shots rang out, and they fell to the ground bleeding, for no apparent reason other than that they were speaking a mix of Arabic and English and wearing Palestinian kaffiyehs. Hisham was paralyzed from the chest down and now uses a wheelchair. This despicable crime shocked and outraged Vermont. This despicable act of violence is a tragic reminder that even relatively tranquil and tolerant communities like Burlington cannot escape the curse of Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of hate, such as anti-Semitism and homophobia. We all have a responsibility to speak out against hatred, extremism, intolerance, and stereotypes that divide our communities and can lead to violence. The alleged perpetrator of this senseless attack was quickly arrested and is in jail awaiting trial. We can be reasonably confident that justice will be done. But the lives of Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen have been changed forever.…”