Hate Crimes Soar Following Attacks

In the three months since the terrorist attacks, there have been seven times more reports of hate crimes directed against Middle Easterners in Los Angeles County than in all of last year, county officials announced Thursday.

The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission said that, between Sept. 11 and Dec. 12, 92 hate crimes were committed against individuals or groups because of a belief that they were Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent.

“As you can see, a wave of hate followed Sept. 11,” said Robin Toma, commission executive director. “This is a huge jump from previous years.”

In all of 2000, Toma said, there were a dozen anti-Middle Eastern hate crimes.

“Fear combined with prejudice resulted in hate,” he said of the recent surge.

Some of the incidents the commission listed as hate crimes have not yet been deemed so by the police agencies investigating them. But police said that the crimes remain unsolved and that hate cannot be eliminated as a motive.

“There are two reported murders still being investigated as possible hate crimes,” Toma said.

Adel Karas, 48, a grocer from Egypt and a Coptic Christian, was killed Sept. 15 in his San Gabriel store. Abdullah Nimer, 53, a Palestinian American and father of six, was murdered Oct. 13 while selling clothing door to door in South Los Angeles.

Most of the reported crimes came in the three weeks immediately after Sept. 11, and the majority were acts of vandalism or criminal threats. Toma said there were 77 incidents of hate, in which something was said or written against those of Middle Eastern descent but that did not rise to a crime. Toma said reporting of such incidents varies.

Also Thursday, actress Patricia Arquette joined the commission at a news conference to announce a series of public service radio announcements that she has put together with other artists to combat hate.

“Diversity makes America beautiful,” said Arquette, whose father is a Muslim and mother is Jewish. “My father celebrates Ramadan. My mother celebrates Hanukkah.”

She said, “The violent acts have declined, but part of what has emerged is insidious racism.”

At social events and in the workplace, Arquette said, she has overheard racist remarks that would not have been uttered before Sept. 11.

Among the actors and musicians joining Arquette in making the radio announcements were Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Benicio Del Toro and Lucy Liu.

“Remember what the flag you wave stands for: freedom, unity and democracy,” says Stiller in one announcement. “Racism is un-American. If you have questions about hateful acts and hate crimes, call 1-888-NO-2-HATE.”

Arquette notes in her announcement that one of the emergency medical technicians who lost his life trying to save others at the World Trade Center was a Muslim. “His mother not only has to mourn the loss of her son, but also has to worry for other children and herself because of discrimination,” she said. Arquette in recent weeks has begun appearing at schools to talk about the issue.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said she believes that things could have been worse after Sept. 11 if groups, such as the commission, had not immediately begun reminding people to be tolerant. From Long Beach to Antelope Valley, various groups and governments have staged town hall meetings, vigils and interfaith services, she said.

The report released by the commission includes the most highly publicized arrest involving a possible hate crime in Los Angeles, the Dec. 12 arrest of Jewish Defense League President Irv Rubin and another JDL executive, Earl Krugel.

Rubin and Krugel were charged with plotting to blow up the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City and the office of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), a congressman of Lebanese descent. Rubin and Krugel, who were arrested by the FBI, maintain they are innocent.

Many of the 92 hate crimes logged by the commission involved cases of mistaken identity. A Latino man was attacked in the Antelope Valley and his assailants told him they thought he was Iranian. In Valencia, Toma said, on Dec. 10 a Sikh merchant was beaten with metal poles in his store as his attackers yelled about terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Because haters lacked an obvious Middle Eastern neighborhood in Los Angeles County to target, Toma said, they chose to target the next best thing: businesses.

Nearly 42% of the hate crimes against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent occurred in gas stations, convenience stores and other businesses, according to the commission.

In the Karas and Nimer cases, investigators note that for hate crime charges to be filed officials will need evidence of the killers’ intent. Sheriff’s investigators have yet to establish a motive in the Karas slaying.

Los Angeles police describe Nimer’s murder as a robbery. The families of both victims, however, said nothing was taken from each crime scene, leaving hate as an obvious motive.

Toma said the question is whether the men were targeted because of racial hatred. Hate, he said, “is a substantial motivation for crime.”