US man convicted in hate crime murder of Palestinian American boy

A six-year-old Palestinian American boy was stabbed in the state of Illinois in October of this year, and a jury found him guilty of murder and hate crime.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty on Friday and will spend life in prison when he is sentenced in May for a murder that was said to be motivated by anti-Muslim sentiments, as per court records. The boy’s mother also suffered severe injuries.

One of the earliest and worst hate crime incidents in the US since Israel’s war on Gaza was the boy’s murder, Wadee Alfayoumi, and Hanan Shaheen’s attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheen.

According to authorities, Czuba, who was Shaheen’s son’s landlord, stabbed the boy 26 times with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade. In Plainfield Township, which is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, Shaheen was the victim of a multiple stab wound.

Shaheen testified that Czuba told her, “You, as a Muslim, must die,” during the trial this week.

A 911 call recording was presented during the trial by Will County State’s Attorney Michael Fitzgerald.

On the audio, Shaheen is reportedly heard saying, “The landlord is killing me and my baby.”

Czuba had previously entered a not-guilty plea and waived testimony on Tuesday during the trial.

“All of our children were targeted,” he said.

The large, well-established Palestinian community in Chicago was deeply affected by the case, which caused headlines all over the world.

According to The Associated Press news agency, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Chicago’s Ahmed Rehab said, “all of us who are parents, whether they are Arab or Palestinian, whether they are Muslims, we all saw our children die in Wadee Alfayoumi.”

“It just so happened that Wadee Alfayoumi was it.” All of our children were targeted when he was targeted. When he yelled, “All Muslims must die,” every Muslim was the target.

The verdict, according to Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, “envoies a clear message that hate-fuelled violence has no place here.”

According to the AFP news agency, he declared, “We will never accept nor forget that a six-year-old child lost his life due to dangerous anti-Palestinian rhetoric.”

Other US incidents that raise questions about anti-Arab bias include the shooting of a three-year-old Palestinian American girl in Florida, the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas, and violent mob attacks against pro-Palestinian protesters in California.