By Hani Al Masri

While the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip intensified, on the other side of the world, the Palestinian-American child Wadih Al-Fayoumi (6 years old) was sitting with his mother in their home in Illinois, United States.

During the Israeli bombing, which has claimed hundreds of Palestinian children in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the child Wadih was exposed to a horrific incident that shook the corners of the world.

History of the oath

On October 15, 2023, Wadih’s mother was surprised by their American neighbor, Joseph Chuba (71 years old), storming the house and stabbing her, before she succeeded in escaping from him, but Chuba did not stop and went to Wadih’s room and stabbed him 26 fatally.

Chuba, as he stabbed the child, said, “You must die, Muslims.” The child’s last words before his soul ascended were, “Don’t worry, mother, I am fine,” according to his uncle, Youssef Hanoun.

The incident, which sparked controversy in American public opinion, prompted the question of what prompted an elderly man to kill a 6-year-old child with such brutality.

This is what Assistant State Attorney Michael Fitzgerald indicated, in his initial statement about the incident, that Chuba was listening to right-wing extremist programs, which led to him feeling increasingly disturbed and suspicious about the presence of a Palestinian family next to him.

According to Chuba's wife, he was completely influenced by his following right-wing channels, following the events of October 7 (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood), and he became afraid that they would be attacked by people of Middle Eastern origin.

It was reported that he was worried about a disaster occurring on the American electricity grid, and he withdrew a thousand dollars from a bank.

It should not be overlooked that this movement includes movements similar to militias and advocates of violence and those who carry weapons, including the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups.

So are the National Rifle Association, the Militia Movement, the Sovereign Citizens Movement, the Oath Knights Movement, and the Three Percenters Movement.

In recent years, they have been joined by movements such as QAnon and the Proud Boys.

Rising right

These right-wing trends share a fixed ideology based on racism and white supremacy, and purging the United States of other races, especially Muslims and Asians, while giving the full right to the American citizen to bear arms.

They form a powerful pressure group that prevents any idea or bill in Congress that calls for limiting the spread of weapons.

It is noteworthy that many of these movements include current and former members of the police and army.

There are movements that consist entirely of this category, such as the Knights of the Oath movement, which emphasizes the need for members of the military to protect the Constitution in the face of the federal government’s attempts to expand its powers.

It is noteworthy that Chuba, the killer of the Palestinian child, who was influenced by right-wing ideas and propaganda, is a former officer in the US Army Air Force, and used a military knife while attacking the child and his mother.

On March 20, 2023, researcher Mohamed Diab wrote his research paper on the rise of the American populist right, which was published by the Arab Center for Studies, Research and Policy.

His relationship with Israel

He stated: “Reagan was the first to strongly support and rely on this trend, and based on that, an American extreme right emerged, embodied in his alliance with the religious right, Christian Zionists, and the secular right (neoconservatives).”

He continued: “At that time, there was a growing influence of the Jewish lobby on the positions and policies of the new American right-wing coalition, such that it became impossible to separate American policy from Israeli policy.”

The two parties’ views on the conflict in the Middle East and their perception of a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue.

On September 19, 2022, the “Madar Center for Palestinian Studies” published a report on the alliance between the Zionist lobby and the far right in the United States.

He stated that despite the strong structure of relations between Washington and Tel Aviv, the year 1980 took a different turn when Reagan, who relied on the extreme right, adopted a more decisive and clear policy close to Israel.

Jewish Christianity

Although the United States represents the cradle of neoliberalism and progressive trends, it is also steeped in radical ideas driven and fueled by the right.

On December 18, 2022, the BBC website published its report on American right-wing thought.

He stated that this movement is currently on the rise because conservative Christians feel that they are on the losing side of demographic and cultural changes.

The report cited the ideas of Ken Peters, a pastor who belongs to what is known as the National Church and preaches that the place of God is judgment. Among his sayings is: “We desire to live in a Jewish Christian nation with Jewish Christian values.”

The report discussed that support for Israel is an essential part of the doctrine of American right-wingers, because they believe that the “Old Testament” is infallible and that the “New Testament” came to complete the Talmud and not to destroy it.

Their influence and symbols

The influence of the American right reached its peak during the era of former President Donald Trump, and they were one of the main reasons for the pressure for Jerusalem to be the capital of the Israeli occupation state.

On May 17, 2017, on the eve of Trump’s visit to Israel, senior figures on the American right called on Trump to implement his pledge to move the American embassy to Jerusalem.

At that time, the evangelical pastor, John Hagee, a symbol of the right, published a message in which he compared the current situation to the historic decision taken by President Harry Truman in 1948 to recognize Israel, despite the strong opposition expressed by (then) Secretary of State George Marshall.

Source: Aqlam Hora