Rep. Rashid’s Statement on the Guilty Verdict in the Murder Trial of Joseph Czuba

“My heart goes out to the family of Wadea Al-Fayoume today. Wadea’s murder was and remains a gut-wrenching, preventable tragedy for the entire Palestinian community in Chicago. The jury was right to find Joseph Czuba guilty on all charges, including murder and hate crimes.

“Wadea’s murder didn’t happen in a vacuum – it was the result of decades of dehumanizing, one-sided media coverage of Palestinians and irresponsible statements from elected officials of both parties. From the Israeli government claiming there are no innocent Palestinians to Netanyhu boasting about driving Palestinians from their homes to Trump’s calls for ethnic cleansing – there is no red line that they won’t cross.

“For decades, Democratic and Republican administrations haven’t just stood by as Israel has instituted apartheid rule and committed a genocide – they have provided Israel with billions of American taxpayer dollars for weapons and bombs, and they repeated Israel’s racist propaganda about Palestinians.

“It was in this climate that Joseph Czuba was radicalized into killing a child he had once embraced. If we want to honor Wadea’s memory and stop tragic crimes like this from happening again, we must hold our government accountable for the failed policies and dehumanizing rhetoric that catalyzed his brutal murder.”