Hate crimes against Muslims have been escalating with the continued Israeli offensive in Gaza. A recent incident saw a 7th-grade teacher swearing at and threatening to behead a Muslim middle-school student on December 8 for her objection to his display of the Israeli flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The teacher is being charged for terroristic acts<\/a> and cruelty to children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says there have been \u201cstaggering\u201d reports of hate crimes in the United States since early October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the eight weeks from Oct. 7 to Dec. 2, CAIR\u2019s national headquarters and chapters received a total of 2,171 requests for help and reports of bias, which is a 172 percent increase<\/a> over a similar two-month period the previous year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n On December 12, a Muslim woman in hijab<\/a> and keffiyeh was assaulted in a city council meeting in Irvine, California, by a woman who identified as an Israeli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a Sand City beach, a man vandalized a \u201cFree Gaza\u201d sign created by three young Palestinians and is accused of having \u201cchoked the 13-year-old child<\/a> in the group\u201d in early December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On December 3, a man committed vandalism<\/a> against a Muslim\u2019s car, with the suspect admitting he defaced the car because the owner is Muslim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n