US to develop first national strategy to counter 'Islamophobia'

The strategy will be a joint effort led by the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council to counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms.

"For too long, Muslims in America, and those perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs, have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fuelled attacks and other discriminatory incidents," the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The White House also mourned the "barbaric killing" of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim boy, and the brutal attack on his mother in their home outside Chicago.

"Today's announcement is the latest step as part of President Biden's directive last year to establish an interagency group to increase and better coordinate US government efforts to counter Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and related forms of bias and discrimination within the United States," the statement added.

This comes after backlash towards President Joe Biden from Democrats on the left wing of the party, young voters, Arab Americans and others over his response to the violence in the Middle East, as Israel has pummelled Gaza with airstrikes, The Hill reported.

Biden has been under pressure from progressives and other groups to call for a cease-fire, but the White House has said it supports a "humanitarian pause" and argues that a cease-fire would only help Hamas.

A poll released on Tuesday showed that Biden's support among Arab American voters has plummeted since the Israel-Hamas war, from 59 per cent in 2020 to just 17 per cent. The poll marks the first time in the 26 years the Arab American Institute has conducted it that the majority did not claim to prefer the Democratic Party, The Hill reported.

The White House has been clear on its fight against antisemitism throughout the administration -- and especially since an uptick in incidents following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7.

It released the nation's first national strategy to counter antisemitism and announced new steps earlier this week to address reports of antisemitic incidents on US college campuses, The Hill reported. (ANI)