Michigan’s Lebanese-American neighborhood is mourning after one in every of their very own was killed in an Israeli air assault in Lebanon.
A big crowd of people that knew Kamel Jawad, a 56-year-old father of 4, attended his funeral ceremony on Sunday on the Islamic Heart of America in Dearborn, Michigan within the US.
Jawad, a Lebanese-American remembered by locals for his generosity, had been killed on October 1 whereas volunteering in his hometown of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, in response to his household.
“In his final days, he selected to remain close to the primary hospital in Nabatieh to assist the aged, disabled, injured, and people who merely couldn’t financially afford to flee,” stated Jawad’s daughter Nadine in a press release.
“His response to political battle was at all times easy: ‘I stand with the oppressed’.”
Talking at his funeral service in Dearborn, Jawad’s son Ali stated he was happy with his father’s legacy of serving to these in want, together with by beginning a nonprofit within the US.
“The work that he was doing is extra essential than any interview or something that we will say or any assertion that we might put out,” stated Ali.
Tales had been fantastically shared about Kamel’s kindness and lifetime of serving others. In respect to the household’s privateness, these statements gained’t be shared right here.
Right here’s what his son Ali, who I’ve identified since elementary faculty, needed to say about what occurred. pic.twitter.com/l8BUrYZKnD
— Sarah Rahal (@SarahRahal_) October 6, 2024
Abed Ayoub, govt director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, advised Al Jazeera final week that Jawad was a cornerstone of Michigan’s Arab-American neighborhood who many appeared to as a mentor.
“He gave again to the neighborhood. He was there for everyone. He raised an unbelievable household,” Ayoub stated of Jawad.
‘What number of extra must die?’
After initially casting doubt on whether or not Jawad was a US citizen, the US State Division launched a press release on Friday confirming his citizenship and expressing “alarm” about his loss of life.
“It’s a ethical and strategic crucial that Israel take all possible precautions to mitigate civilian hurt. Any lack of civilian life is a tragedy,” stated the assertion
However these phrases provided little solace to many Arab Individuals who really feel their nation has finished little to guard its residents in Lebanon whereas US-funded bombs rain down.
Whereas some 6,000 Individuals in Lebanon have contacted the embassy for assist in getting out, the federal government has solely helped some 600 folks depart, in response to a State Division spokesperson talking on October 5.
“Solely politics and racism might clarify the Biden administration’s disgusting sample of indifference to Individuals of shade killed by the Israeli authorities,” stated the Council on American-Islamic Relations in a press release on the loss of life of Jawad.
“By illegally arming the Israeli authorities, justifying its indiscriminate assaults on Lebanese civilians, and refusing to evacuate Individuals from Lebanon, President Biden bears direct accountability for the homicide of Kamel [Jawad].”
Palestinian-American US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who represents the Michigan district the place Jawad was from, stated the US authorities was successfully “abandoning Americans” in Lebanon.
“As a congresswoman to a stupendous numerous district, I shouldn’t must beg our personal authorities to assist its personal residents,” Tlaib wrote in an Instagram submit on October 2. “
“We’ve got already misplaced one American who was the daddy of 4. What number of extra must die earlier than our nation stops sending extra US bombs and funding this insanity?”
Jawad shouldn’t be the primary US citizen to be killed by Israel’s navy since October 7, 2023, when Israel started a year-long offensive in Gaza that spiralled into battle within the occupied West Financial institution and Lebanon.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a twin citizen of the US and Turkey, was shot within the head by an Israeli sniper whereas protesting settlement growth close to the West Financial institution metropolis of Nablus in September.
The US stated it was “disturbed” by her killing, which Israeli authorities described as an “accident”, however stated it will not perform an impartial probe.
