Local organizer and activist Nadia Rahman wrote about a recent anti-Arab hate incident she experienced in front of City Hall on her way to speak to the Board of Supervisors about the rise in anti-Arab hate in San Francisco.
In some recent Instagram posts, local Palestinian American organizer and activist Nadia Rahman shared details about a hate incident she experienced on the steps of City Hall, in which an older woman insulted her keffiyeh, calling it “trash” and telling her to "go back to your country." Rahman had been on her way to speak during public comment at the Board of Supervisors meeting in support of a resolution recognizing Arab American Heritage Month and to emphasize the sharp rise in anti-Arab hate fueled by the U.S.-funded Israeli genocide in Gaza.
She immediately reported the hate incident to the Mayor’s office, her district Supervisor Connie Chan, CAIR, AROC, the California Civil Rights Department, and the City Hall Sheriff’s department. In an email to Supervisor Chan and Mayor Lurie's administration, Rahman called for stronger public support for San Francisco’s Arab community, emphasizing that this wasn’t an isolated event.
Rahman shared other recent examples of hate incidents reported by Palestinian American residents, including harassment for displaying Palestinian flags and wearing cultural symbols:
Two days ago, a district 8 resident reached out to me to share a series of hate incidents that happened to her due to her Palestinian American identity and Palestinian flag hanging outside her home and asked for advice on where to go and what to do.”
One month ago, a district 1 resident reached out to me to share that she and her partner experienced a hate incident at a Jack in the Box here in the district because her partner was wearing a keffiyeh.
Rahman is now calling on San Francisco’s leaders to publicly and explicitly condemn both anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism. She emphasized that public support is critical for the Arab American community, especially as many feel invisible and abandoned amid escalating violence at home and abroad.
My ask to these public officials since this hate incident occurred is to publicly condemn both 1) anti-Arab racism and 2) anti-Palestinian racism in San Francisco. Name it and condemn it explicitly. The community needs a public condemnation of these forms of hate to feel seen, and to be called in to report these incidents.
Public officials base their policymaking on data and a majority of hate incidents and crimes against Arab and Muslim people go unreported. They will not take action unless we force them to; the data helps immensely in that regard.
Image pulled from Instagram video
