[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2415-S2416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 589--HONORING WADEE ALFAYOUMI, A 6-YEAR-OLD 
PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN BOY, MURDERED AS A VICTIM OF A HATE CRIME FOR HIS 
         PALESTINIAN-MUSLIM IDENTITY, IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Stabenow, Mrs. 
Murray, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Welch, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. 
Menendez) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 589

       Whereas Wadee Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian-Muslim-
     American boy, was loved by his family and friends as an 
     energetic, loving, and joyous light who brought sunshine to 
     his loved ones and classmates;
       Whereas, on October 14, 2023, at 11:30 a.m., Wadee 
     Alfayoumi was brutally stabbed 26 times by a hate-driven 
     perpetrator and tragically succumbed to his injuries;
       Whereas Wadee Alfayoumi's perpetrator has been indicted for 
     a hate crime by the Will County, Illinois, grand jury, and 
     the Department of Justice has opened a hate crimes 
     investigation into the events leading to Wadee Alfayoumi's 
     death, as there is evidence the perpetrator yelled during the 
     brutal killing, ``All Muslims must die and your people must 
     die'' and has been observed to be a consumer of media 
     containing dehumanizing and hateful rhetoric that is anti-
     Muslim and anti-Palestinian;
       Whereas Wadee Alfayoumi was born and raised in the United 
     States, and his family wanted the United States to provide 
     them a life of safety away from dehumanizing and hateful 
     rhetoric toward Palestinian people;
       Whereas no one should be a target of hate because of their 
     ethnicity or religion, whether such ethnicity or religion is 
     expressed verbally or through how one dresses, such as 
     through the wearing of a hijab, keffiyeh, turban, mitpahat, 
     tichel, shpitzel, sheitel, kippah, or yarmulke;
       Whereas dehumanizing misinformation and disinformation fuel 
     sentiments of hate that result in violence against those who 
     belong or who are perceived to belong to a certain ethnic or 
     religious group;
       Whereas the Palestinian community's migration to the United 
     States dates back to the late 19th century;
       Whereas the United States is home to one of the largest 
     Palestinian diasporas in the world that is made up of 
     lawyers, doctors, teachers, business owners, law enforcement, 
     and others, all who contribute to the history, arts, 
     commerce, promise, and character of the United States;
       Whereas Wadee Alfayoumi shared a heritage, history, love, 
     culture, tradition, and

[[Page S2416]]

     brilliance belonging to the Palestinian people and was a 
     symbol of another great Palestinian life full of promise;
       Whereas Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in 
     the United States, and those all across the globe deserve to 
     live in peace and be free from discrimination, hate crimes, 
     and violence; and
       Whereas the recent Israel-Gaza conflict has had a 
     particularly devastating impact on children in the region, 
     including at one point resulting in a Palestinian child dying 
     every 10 minutes, according to the World Health Organization: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate recognizes that--
       (1) the United States lost the beautiful light of Wadee 
     Alfayoumi because of hate;
       (2) it is the duty of elected officials and media to tell 
     the truth without dehumanizing rhetoric when informing the 
     public of factual information;
       (3) freedom of speech and peaceful protest are 
     constitutionally protected and a fundamental cornerstone of 
     democracy; and
       (4) the United States has zero tolerance for hate crimes, 
     Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Palestinian and anti-
     Arab discrimination.

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