Palestinians mourn New Orleanian murdered by Israel, denounce U.S. aid
Harvey, LA – On the evening of January 20, hundreds of Palestinians gathered at a local mosque to commemorate 17-year-old New Orleans native Tawfik Abdeljabbar. The day before, an undisclosed Israeli officer murdered Abdeljabbar in the Palestinian village of Al-Mazra’a on the West Bank.
“We’ve been marching for three months now, advocating about what’s going on. Now it really hits home when a New Orleanian gets killed, gets shot in the head while driving. I haven’t heard a word from any representatives. What’s it gonna take for them to say something?” said Mo Abdel, an organizer and speaker for the Masjid Omar mosque.
Abdeljabbar studied at the Muslim Academy Gretna Islamic School. “Tawfik was funny, beautiful, smart, witty and always had something sarcastic and hilarious to say,” says Sherean Murad, vice principal of Muslim Academy and Abdeljabbar’s former teacher. “He was also an American citizen. His parents pay taxes like me and you – taxes that funded the same weapons that were used to murder him in cold blood.”
At the vigil, men shook hands and gave heartfelt embraces to family members. Earlier that day, women gathered at a private residence to do the same.
“It’s honestly devastating. My heart goes out to his brother, who couldn’t make it here because he’s still in the West Bank,” said Mohammad Abdel-Wahhab, Abdeljabbar’s cousin.
The commemoration was solemn, but participants sharply condemned both the Zionist occupation and the U.S. government’s support for it.
“This boy was just starting with his life, his education. To them he’s not more valuable than a chicken,” said Mohammad Salem, Abdeljabbar’s uncle. “I call this a terrorist nation. By sending them arms the U.S. supports the terrorists.”