A false attack on American institutions

Last week started on a very troubling note. Elon Musk retweeted a vicious attack on more than a dozen U.S. entities that have received grants from USAID or the State Department over the past decade. Musk’s original post on X referred to these groups as “terrorism-related.” In his response to the post, Musk wrote: “As many have said, why pay terrorist organizations and countries to hate us when they are willing to do it for free?!”

The organizations listed in the original post appear to have been selectively chosen by someone who is hostile to Arabs and Muslims. He appears to have scanned the list of grantees and randomly selected entities that had the word “Arab” or “Muslim” in their names or that had done work in the Middle East. I don’t know all of the groups listed, but the ones I do know have been at the forefront of providing life-saving humanitarian assistance to refugees and victims of war or natural disaster, while also building better relationships between the United States and communities in need throughout the Middle East. Many of the organizations I identified on the list have equally impressive track records of service.

What was very disturbing to me was that my institute, the Arab American Institute, was number two on the list. This was disturbing for two reasons: first, because the accusation was completely false, and second, because it was an irresponsible threat.

The fact is that the Institute received a grant from the State Department in 2018 (during the first Trump administration) to create partnerships between Arab American elected officials, public servants, and local elected officials. Since its founding in 1985, the Arab American Institute has a proud track record of encouraging Arab Americans to run for local office. As our work has evolved, we have realized that many of these young leaders have never been to the Middle East, and if they have, it has only been to the countries where their families come from. I have long hoped to create a program that would allow them to learn about and understand the broader Arab world, as well as share their experiences and learnings in American political life with their counterparts in Arab countries. The initial phase of the program was so successful that the State Department supported its expansion to Morocco and then Jordan. It has been wonderful to see these young Arabs and Arab Americans working together in a collaborative spirit, discussing the problems they face in running their municipalities, and finding solutions to improve services for residents, such as garbage collection, community technology centers, and support for families with children with special needs. The program ends in 2023.

For someone with an anti-Arab or anti-Muslim bias to equate these efforts to build bridges between peoples with support for terrorism is unfathomably wrong. For someone of Musk’s stature to retweet this message and add a comment to it is unacceptably dangerous.

While the United States can be a welcoming and inclusive country, we must also recognize that we have a history of hatred and violence, and Arab Americans and supporters of Palestinian rights have been disproportionately targeted in recent decades. In 1985, after one of my former employees at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee was murdered, I was asked to testify before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the U.S. Congress about the hatred and violence directed at our community.

In my testimony, I explained how the environment of hate crimes against Arab Americans is fueled by those who incite against us. I noted that when we are labeled terrorists or supporters of terrorism, it motivates some to use violence against us. I know this personally from the death threats I have received over the years.

In the past two decades alone, four people have been convicted for threatening my life, the lives of my family, and my employees. These threats were often accompanied by charges of terrorism or supporting terrorism.

So I take it seriously when someone as powerful and influential as Musk makes an irresponsible accusation against our institute. What’s even more disturbing is that his post has been viewed by nearly 20 million people, and it only takes one mentally ill person to read it and decide to carry out a violent act.

Some have advised us not to respond to Musk’s incitement, hoping it will fade away on its own. But I disagree. Ultimately, our best defense is to show how wrong he is and how dangerous his words are.