In a harrowing incident that has left the Muslim, Arab and Texan community reeling, Elizabeth Wolf stands accused of attempting to drown a three-year-old girl, in what is perceived to be racially motivated attack. The child’s mother heroically intervened, pulling her daughter from the water, “crying for help and expelling water from her lungs” in a scene reminiscent of a nightmare!
Elizabeth Wolf, a 42-year-old Jewish American woman, as reported by ynetnews.com has been charged with the grave offences of attempted capital murder and injury to a child.
The allegations have been described to be both chilling and distressing by the child’s family. Wolf purportedly tried to drown the three-year-old Palestinian child at a Texas apartment complex, her actions reportedly accompanied by racially charged remarks.
The attack, which took place at a local swimming pool in Euless, Texas, on May 19, involved Elizabeth Wolf assaulting a mother and her two children after overhearing them speak a foreign language.
After interrogating the mother, Wolf attempted to drag the six-year-old and three-year-old children into the deep end of the pool where they were swimming. However, the six-year-old managed to escape.
In addition to dragging the children into the deep end of the pool, the assailant forcibly removed the mother’s hijab and used it to beat her while attempting to submerge the three-year-old child’s head under water.
Following the intervention of a bystander and subsequent arrest by the police, the woman shouted to an onlooker, “Tell her I will kill her, and I will kill her entire family.”
In a statement, the children’s mother expressed, “We are American citizens, originally from Palestine, and I don’t know where to go to feel safe with my kids. My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here.
“My daughter is traumatised; whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides, telling me she is afraid the lady will come and immerse her head in the water again.
“Also, my husband’s employment is jeopardised due to having to leave work to accompany me and our four kids whenever we have appointments and errands to run.”
CAIR-Austin Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan expressed her concerns of fearing a “new level of bigotry” that is arising in the US and added she was “devastated” that the perpetrator was given bail the day after her arrest.
“We ask for hate-crime probe, a higher bail bond, and an open conversation with officials to address this alarming increase in Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian sentiment,” she added.
Since October 7, the United States has witnessed a disturbing surge in Islamophobic incidents and hate crime towards the Palestinian diaspora. The mainstream media, intriguingly, have largely refrained from reporting on this story, leaving many to wonder about the selective spotlight cast on hate crimes.
On October 14, Wadea Al-Fayoume (A 6- year old Palestinian-American boy) was stabbed 26 times at his home in Plainfield Township, Illinois, by his family’s landlord.
The case of Elizabeth Wolf highlights the urgent need for vigilance against the rising tide of bigotry and violence against Muslims and the Palestinian diaspora. As we grapple with the manner in which this case has been responded to and the unsettling dynamics of selective outrage, the call for justice regarding hate crime towards Muslims and the Palestinian diaspora grows ever more imperative.
Furthermore, the mainstream media’s bias is repeatedly evident, as the perpetrator’s race and religion are consistently highlighted when the individual happens to be a Muslim.
