Michigan’s Lebanese-American group 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 Middle 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 those that merely couldn’t financially afford to flee,” mentioned Jawad’s daughter Nadine in an announcement.
“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 mentioned 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 vital than any interview or something that we will say or any assertion that we may put out,” mentioned Ali.
Tales have been fantastically shared about Kamel’s kindness and lifetime of serving others. In respect to the household’s privateness, these statements received’t be shared right here.
Right here’s what his son Ali, who I’ve recognized 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, informed Al Jazeera final week that Jawad was a cornerstone of Michigan’s Arab-American group who many regarded to as a mentor.
“He gave again to the group. He was there for everyone. He raised an unbelievable household,” Ayoub mentioned of Jawad.
‘What number of extra need to die?’
After initially casting doubt on whether or not Jawad was a US citizen, the US State Division launched an announcement on Friday confirming his citizenship and expressing “alarm” about his dying.
“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,” mentioned the assertion
However these phrases provided little solace to many Arab People who really feel their nation has done little to protect its citizens in Lebanon whereas US-funded bombs rain down.
Whereas some 6,000 People 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 may clarify the Biden administration’s disgusting sample of indifference to People of shade killed by the Israeli authorities,” mentioned the Council on American-Islamic Relations in an announcement on the dying of Jawad.
“By illegally arming the Israeli authorities, justifying its indiscriminate assaults on Lebanese civilians, and refusing to evacuate People 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, mentioned the USA authorities was successfully “abandoning Americans” in Lebanon.
“As a congresswoman to a good looking various district, I shouldn’t need to beg our personal authorities to assist its personal residents,” Tlaib wrote in an Instagram publish on October 2. “
“We’ve already misplaced one American who was the daddy of 4. What number of extra need to die earlier than our nation stops sending extra US bombs and funding this insanity?”
Jawad is just not the primary US citizen to be killed by Israel’s army 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 in the head by an Israeli sniper whereas protesting settlement growth close to the West Financial institution metropolis of Nablus in September.
The US mentioned it was “disturbed” by her killing, which Israeli authorities described as an “accident”, however mentioned it will not perform an impartial probe.
