CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Pritzker administration joined members of Illinois' Arab-American community on Monday to denounce recent incidents of hate across the state because of a war half a world away.
Speaking at the Arab-American Bar Association offices in the Loop, Governor Pritzker said we must all work to combat the hate speech and hate crimes that have risen up because of the war between Hammas and Israel.
“This moment has brought intolerance and bigotry and hatred from other groups, not Jewish or Muslim, but the ones who seek to use the moment to foment attacks upon either or both communities,” Pritzker said.
State Attorney Kwame Raoul said his office is ready to act.
“We join unequivocally in condemning hate crimes and hate speech, whether it occurs in the workplace, at educational institutions, on social media or in the community at large. Moreover, we stand ready to respond where appropriate,” Raoul said.
With the governor at his side, former judge William Haddad with the Arab-American Bar Association of Illinois said his group is concerned about recent acts of antisemitism across the state and acts against Arab-Americans.
“We’ve seen violence everywhere. For example, regarding children, we all know of the murder of Wadea al-Fayoume, the young six-year-old boy who was killed in Plainfield,” Haddad said. “But, we also saw another assault on a 10-year-old boy in Gurnee Mills who expressed support for Free Palestine.”
The governor was asked if Illinois needs stronger laws against hate.
“We need stronger action in our communities to stand up against hate speech and hate crime, that’s what we need. We have very strong laws,” said Prizker.
He often says hate has no home in Illinois, but Pritzker said hate has an insidious way of trying to move in if we let it.
Last week, representatives of other Arab-American groups criticized the governor for not doing enough to call out anti-Islamic sentiment in the days following the attacks by Hamas.
WBBM Editor Geoff Dankert contributed to this report.
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