Statement in Response to Canary Mission Claims
I was recently filmed removing a poster from a New York City pole. This video, and my actions depicted in it, have hurt and confused some people based on the rhetoric and disinformation with which it was shared. To those people, I want to offer context – not to excuse the impact of my actions, but to help you understand my intent. To be expressly clear, I deeply hope that all of those held captive by both Hamas and the state of Israel are safely returned home immediately.
The top half of the poster (not visible in the video) showed a picture of a middle-aged man kidnapped by Hamas.
Under his picture was large text with claims about Palestinians that were racist and vitriolic – language that has been used to justify acts of violence (a pattern, and a practice that we’ve seen used to justify violence against Black folks, Latine folks, Jewish folks, Muslim folks, from the Jim Crow south to Apartheid South Africa to Nazi Germany to the Rwandan Genocide). I felt the language was dehumanizing and dangerous, and was compelled to remove the dissemination of language that would, as historically proven, justify a cycle of violence.
As I was removing this poster with disinformation, some people came out of a nearby building, and began to aggressively yell at myself and the other individual, using transphobic and homophobic slurs, with attempts to physically intimidate us - all of which was the catalyst for the retort from the other individual on the video. At that moment, they started recording us on their phones.
After removing the poster, I walked away.
The video was initially posted and shared by accounts that have a history of doxxing pro-Palestinian voices. Reactions and comments to the video have demanded my deportation (I was born in Wisconsin), called for my death, and jeopardized the safety of my family and loved ones. As a Muslim-American man who grew up in a post-9/11 US, this type of rhetoric and faith-based hatred is unfortunately familiar.
Palestinian-Americans and those that support Palestinian freedom, people who have publicly spoken out against Israeli attacks, and anti-war activists –all of which are not the same thing as being antisemitic– are currently experiencing extreme levels of retaliation, violence, and intimidation. Undocumented student activists are having their personal information broadcast far and wide. Three Palestinian students have been shot while wearing their keffiyehs and speaking Arabic. A six-year-old Palestinian boy was stabbed to death in our own backyard of Plainview, Illinois.
During this rise of Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate, I want to also acknowledge and condemn the fact that we’ve also seen a rise in antisemitic hate. It’s no coincidence that antisemitism and Islamophobia are both rising concurrently, as we know they are both rooted in xenophobia and racism. But also the pain that we feel from these, that some of you felt when seeing the rhetoric about me – they also have commonalities. That pain can be weaponized by some to divide us. However, I deeply believe that that pain can be the strongest bridge to allow us to come together to build a more democratic and equitable world that we all deserve to live in.
I remain steadfast in my belief that antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression must be rejected, fought, and overcome—and that the only way to do this is by encouraging serious discourse over real information. To do this in an age of unprecedented access to all types of information – correct or incorrect, it is important now, more than ever, to ensure that we continue to fight disinformation, especially that which incites violence.
We must not let doxxing and the threats of violence and retaliation stifle serious discussion about how best to advance peace, justice, and democracy at home and around the world.
