Next week, the Arab American Institute Foundation (AAIF) will release a comprehensive study on anti-Arab hate crimes in the US. The result of eight months of work, “Under-reported, Under Threat: Hate Crime in the United States and the Targeting of Arab Americans,” fills a gap in available research on hate-based crime.
More than just a compilation of acts of violence or threats against persons of Arab descent, the AAIF study also reviews the history of how law enforcement agencies have dealt with (or rather have not dealt with) anti-Arab hate crimes. The report then rates the performance of all 50 states and the District of Columbia as to whether or not they have hate crime and data collection statutes, and require and provide appropriate law enforcement training. It concludes with recommendations for national and local governments to assist in improving their reporting and performance in dealing with these crimes.
Among the report’s findings we learn that while pervasive negative stereotypes and political exclusion have increased the vulnerability of Arab Americans, actual threats and incidents of violence against members of the community have “historically intensified in the wake of developments in the Middle East or incidents of mass violence” – whether or not the perpetrator was of Arab descent. The study notes with concern that this “backlash” effect has “increased in the current political climate.”
As the report makes clear both federal and state governments have, to varying degrees, been negligent in addressing this problem. The FBI started collecting data on hate crimes, including those targeting Arab Americans, after Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990. But in 1992, the federal government told the FBI it was not allowed to publish statistics on anti-Arab hate crimes, and the category used to report anti-Arab hate crimes was removed from the FBI’s data collections. This did not stop local law enforcement agencies from reporting hundreds of incidents under this category until 2003, when the FBI told agencies that it would start rejecting “improperly coded data.” Even though the category was reintroduced in 2015, the AAIF study shows that federal anti-Arab hate crime statistics are still deficient.
For me, this issue is deeply personal. I know from experience how dangerous and painful anti-Arab hate can be. In 1980, my office was fire-bombed and I continued to receive threats throughout the next two decades. After repeated threats, a colleague and friend in California, Alex Odeh, was murdered when his office was bombed in 1985. And since September 11, 2001, three individuals have gone to prison for threatening my life and the lives of my children and staff.
As I observed in Congressional testimony in 1985, in too many instances the threats against us were preceded by incitement.
All of these actions and practices create a climate in which Arab Americans become fearful of speaking freely and taking part in legitimate political activity. Further, these practices serve to embolden the political opponents of Arab Americans to the point where, as we have seen, some have escalated their opposition to include acts of violence against Arab Americans and their organisations.”
Over the past four decades, the performance of federal law enforcement agencies in addressing hate crimes has gone from deplorable to commendable. Early on, Arab Americans even hesitated to report death threats because of the behaviour of the agents who came to visit us. After the 1980 fire-bombing for example, I ended up feeling that I was being grilled more for information about the Arab community, than about the likely perpetrators – members of an FBI designated terrorist group, the Jewish Defence League.
Since 9/11, the situation changed quite dramatically. The FBI and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division have taken threats seriously. While other problems remain, in this area they have been quite protective of the community.
It is this context of the progress made and the work that remains to be done that the AAIF report has been issued. It will, I believe, serve as an invaluable resource for policymakers, law enforcement agencies and community groups.