CAIR Calls on Police to ID, Arrest Man Who Reportedly Fled After Allegedly Attacking Female Protester
(BALTIMORE, MD, 4/2/2024) — The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Jewish Voice for Peace Baltimore (JVP Baltimore) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) today strongly condemned reports of anti-Palestinian counter-protesters’ alleged violent behavior and hate speech toward peaceful demonstrators at a vigil last night protesting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian land outside the Congregation Shomrei Emunah Synagogue in Baltimore where the Israel-based CapitIL Real Estate Agency had scheduled an event to educate vetted participants about “buying their home in Israel.”
VIDEO: Anti-Palestinian Protestor Violently Confronts Peaceful Demonstrators
SEE: Protests erupt on Greenspring Avenue over Israeli-Palestinian conflict (WBFF 45)
Video footage and news coverage of the event captured vigil participants reportedly exposed to violent behavior and hate speech, including multiple incidents of physical and verbal assaults and Islamophobic slurs from anti-Palestinian counter protestors.
Examples of incidents reported or witnessed at the vigil include:
- a peaceful demonstrator who was allegedly shoved to the ground by an anti-Palestinian counterprotester who reportedly pushed past him in an aggressive manner
- an anti-Palestinian counterprotester who allegedly shouted Islamophobic slurs while attempting to break a human shield formed by allies surrounded Muslims praying the sunset prayer after breaking their fast at the action
- a peaceful demonstrator who was reportedly shoved while attempting to shield another demonstrator from an anti-Palestinian counterprotester
- multiple accounts of anti-Palestinian counterprotesters reportedly aggressively confronting peaceful demonstrators, allegedly accusing them of being terrorists, calling for the nuking of Gaza, shouting provocative, hostile speech
- an anti-Palestinian counterprotester on a bike allegedly attempting to swing towards a woman’s megaphone, shoving yard signs into another peaceful demonstrator’s face, leaving her face visibly bruised and scratched, then reportedly fleeing police during questioning
- anti-Palestinian counterprotesters allegedly attempting to physically assault or grab megaphones out of the hands of peaceful demonstrators
- an anti-Palestinian counterprotester allegedly assaulting a peaceful demonstrator and reportedly “attempting suffocation” with an Israeli flag
The victim Samantha Kellerman, whose face was reportedly bruised and scratched, provided a written statement and photo of the alleged attacker to CAIR. CAIR is calling on police to investigate the incident, identify the suspect and take appropriate corrective action.
In a statement, CAIR’s Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:
“The virulent display of anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic hate at last evening’s JVP Baltimore-led action is a reflection of today’s toxic political climate in which we’ve observed an unprecedented surge of bigotry and violence towards our communities. We urge Baltimore City police to take swift action to investigate the attack on Samantha and bring the perpetrator to justice. We applaud the courage of those who courageously protested against the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and we condemn in the strongest terms the malicious vitriol and hateful attacks our group faced. Jewish, Palestinian and Muslim communities in Maryland remain united in our commitment to demand justice and freedom for Palestine, and to hold accountable those who may seek to profit off of the sales of stolen land.”
Earlier today, CAIR released its 2024 civil rights report, which reveals the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history.
SEE: New CAIR Civil Rights Report Reveals Highest Number of Complaints in Group’s 30-Year History
In a statement, Jewish Voice for Peace Baltimore Spokesperson Cassidy Cohen said:
“We protested the CapitIL Real Estate Agency’s ‘Buying Property in Israel’ event because by ignoring this genocide and facilitating the sale of land in Jerusalem to exclusively Jews, CapitIL Real Estate Agency is complicit in 75+ years of occupation and apartheid. Especially in Baltimore, where fair housing is a key struggle, we know it’s like for communities to be kicked out of their homes and off their land. And that’s exactly what was happening at yesterday’s event. As Jews, we oppose all forms of displacement and land theft, from Baltimore to Palestine. We say never again for anyone. We come from a Jewish tradition that has for millenia opposed empire, colonization, and nationalism, that values every human life, and is rooted in social justice. Against the backdrop of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Israeli settlers are further expanding into the occupied West Bank and the Israeli military is raiding refugee camps and arresting and killing civilians.”
In a statement, American Muslims for Palestine’s Director of Outreach and Community Organizing Taher Herzallah said:
“Characteristic of how Zionism manifests itself in Palestine, Zionists in the US appear to be perpetuating the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through hosting land grab events at institutions of worship while spewing hate and vitriol at anyone who opposes them. By hosting this event at a synagogue, the organizers seemingly sought to blur the distinction between Zionism and Judaism in order to play the victim card when they face opposition or criticism. The strong presence of our Jewish allies opposed to this troubling event shattered that facade, inciting anti-Palestinian counterprotesters to inflict violence. We cannot allow this blatant support of ethnic cleansing and racism to continue any longer.”
In a statement, Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL) Commission on War Crimes founder Lamis Deek added:
“The PAL Law Commission served notice and demand to cease letters on all relevant parties and filed complaints with several government agencies. It’s appalling that the City of Baltimore has allowed such divisive and unlawful events to go on. We were happy to see the intended hosts extricate themselves from further liability, but the role they would have played in perpetuating such potential crimes, including helping recruit Americans to colonize Palestine – during genocide in Palestine – is abhorrent, as was the violent response by the pro-Israeli, pro-settlement protesters yesterday. Palestinians are traumatized, doubly victimized, and betrayed daily: in Palestine when their property is stolen with U.S. support, in the U.S. by Americans who move into their stolen lands, and by a justice system that fails them on this count and in protecting their right to object to these egregious crimes when they’re assaulted without protection. The government’s inaction won’t stop us from pursuing all avenues for justice available to us, inside and outside the U.S.”
Such real estate events, which appear to exclusively prioritize the sale of land in Israel to Jewish communities in the U.S. and Canada, have led to growing public outcry and concern over the Israeli government’s apartheid policies, illegal land grabbing, and the continued forced displacement of Palestinians.
Advocates of different faiths and backgrounds have expressed mounting concerns that the Jerusalem-based CapitIL Real Estate Agency’s events may encourage, enable or facilitate the sale of illegally occupied Palestinian land. One of the companies involved in the CapitIL event has allegedly been screening guests and clients by asking invasive pre-screening questions about their religious beliefs and cultural practices, raising additional concerns about potential illegal discrimination.
Similar real estate events in other cities have also raised concerns and been strongly condemned.
The Baltimore vigil was attended by some one hundred demonstrators who called for a free Palestine, condemned the Israeli government’s settler colonial violence, and asserted the right of return for Palestinians barred from their homeland.
Vigil organizers hailed the success of public pressure forcing the real estate agency to have to re-locate its Baltimore event as confirmed by officers on the scene, but the groups are doubling down on calls for a federal probe into this and similar events.
The groups have also written to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates urging they investigate and take appropriate action.
More than 40,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces in the last 172 days, mostly women and children. An additional 420 Palestinians, including 110 children, in the West Bank have been killed by Israel since October 7, 2023. The targeting of Palestinians has continued despite the UN Security Council passing a ceasefire resolution earlier this week.
SEE: U.N. Security Council Passes Resolution for Immediate Cease-Fire
CAIR, AMP, and Jewish Voice for Peace Baltimore stand in unwavering solidarity with coalition partners for justice and liberation for Palestinians.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
AMP works to educate, organize, and mobilize the Muslim-American community, as well as allies in other communities, to advance Palestinian rights.
JVP is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world, organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people.
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CONTACT: CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062; JVP Baltimore Spokesman Adam Weissman, AMP Outreach Director Taher Herzallah, 951-741-7007