Austin, TX
Texas Man Accused Of Stabbing Palestinian American Attending Cease-Fire Protest
A man accused of stabbing a Palestinian American while attacking a group of people leaving a cease-fire rally in Austin was arrested last weekend in the latest U.S. incident of violence amid an escalation of Islamophobia, antisemitism and anti-Arab sentiment.
A group of four Palestinian and Muslim Americans were driving home from a pro-Palestinian protest Sunday near the University of Texas campus when a white man on a bicycle approached their vehicle at a stop sign, began shouting racial slurs and tried to rip a “Free Palestine” flag off their car, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group.
The attacker then reportedly pulled a 23-year-old Palestinian American out of the car and stabbed him in the chest. Austin police said Zacharia Doar was taken to a hospital, where his wounds were determined to be non-life-threatening. CAIR, which has been in contact with the affected protesters and the Doar family, said Monday that the young man was recovering from surgery.
“We strongly condemn this apparent act of hate, we applaud these young men bravely defending themselves, and we call on state and federal law enforcement authorities to file appropriate charges against the suspect, including hate crime charges,” CAIR-Dallas Director Mustafa Carroll said Monday.
“No one should be targeted and attacked because they put Palestinian-themed items on their vehicle. Anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim bigotry have no place in Texas or anywhere else in our nation.”
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images
Police arrested 36-year-old Bert James Baker on suspicion of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack. Baker is being held at Travis County Jail in Austin, with bail set at $100,000. It was unclear as of Tuesday afternoon if he has an attorney.
Austin police said Tuesday that they think the attack was a “bias-motivated incident” and that it’s being reviewed by the department’s Hate Crimes Review Committee. The committee will provide its findings to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
“We encourage everyone to educate, support and respect all members of our community, regardless of their background or beliefs,” the Austin Police Department said in a statement. “We strongly condemn all forms of crime, especially those which are bias-motivated or showing of discrimination.
“Our Department is committed to keeping our community safe and inclusive for all. We will continue to work to ensure that our community is a place where everyone feels valued and respected.”
The APD said it will be up to the district attorney to determine whether the charges against Baker should be escalated to a hate crime.
At a CAIR news conference in front of Austin City Hall on Tuesday, Doar’s father, Nizar, said his son lives with his wife and infant child in Arlington, Texas, and was in Austin on Sunday only to attend the demonstration calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“All I want is justice for my son and justice for our people in Gaza,” Nizar said, adding that Doar was in “pain and agony” from the stabbing. The father also stressed that U.S. leaders at the local and national level had failed to keep his son safe.
“This has come to haunt us in our homeland. It’s come to haunt us in the U.S. It’s come to haunt us in Texas,” he said. “This is not acceptable. And I beg you to call an end for this madness.”
The stabbing comes as cases of Islamophobia and antisemitism have been rising in the U.S. since the Hamas militant group launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7 that left about 1,200 Israelis dead and about 240 taken hostage, triggering a massive retaliation by Israeli forces on Gaza that has killed more than 27,000 people, according to Gaza health officials.
An Illinois man was charged with a hate crime after repeatedly stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy to death in October. In November, a man shot three 20-year-old college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, leaving one of the men unable to walk.
Despite the rise in Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate in the U.S., the Biden administration has remained an unwavering financial and diplomatic ally to Israel, refusing to call for a cease-fire and defending the country now being accused at the international level of committing genocide. President Joe Biden has faced intense backlash from the Muslim and Arab American communities over his response to the attacks on Gaza.
“Mr. Joe Biden, I blame you for what happened to me,” Doar said in a message shared by his father. “If you would have called for a cease-fire three months ago, this would have never happened.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.
In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.”
APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.
Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.
The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter.
Here are ways you can help:
- Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals.
- Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks.
- Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.
If you would like to donate, click here.
AUSTIN, Texas — With heavy rain expected across parts of Central Texas this week and flooding top of mind, the city of Austin is proposing to put more money toward flood mitigation improvements in next year’s budget.
The proposal would invest in new flood infrastructure, add staff, and help move flood mitigation projects forward, according to city leaders. Austin City Councilmember Ryan Alter said the investments are aimed at keeping the city prepared for future flooding.
Residents who live near waterways say they have seen how quickly conditions can change. David Haderspeck, who lives near Shoal Creek, said the creek “fills up pretty fast” and “gets a lot higher than you’d expect.” He said he has watched the water rise dramatically after rain.
“I’ve seen it come up probably 10 to 15 feet to the ordinary high-water mark,” he said.
This week, parts of Central Texas, including the Hill Country, are expected to get heavy downpours. While Austin is not expecting the same impacts as parts of the Hill Country, leaders said the city is using this year’s budget planning to continue investing in flood safety.
Alter said the city has the expertise to address flooding risks but needs to follow through on projects.
ALSO| Central Texas urged to prepare as heavy rainfall sits in forecast over next two days
“We have the experts. We just have to put the plans into practice, and that’s what we’re doing in this budget,” he said.
Under the budget proposal, the city would provide about $134.5 million for the Drainage Utility Fund, which helps pay for flood mitigation, drainage infrastructure and watershed protection efforts.
Alter said the proposal would shift more of the funding balance toward building new infrastructure.
“What we’re going to do is shift that balance a little bit more to building new infrastructure so that when we do have large flooding events, we’ve got that infrastructure in place to keep people safe,” he said.
The proposal also adds staff and invests in both new and existing flood mitigation projects across the city.
Asked whether the proposed investments would be enough moving forward, Alter said, “I do…I think we’re doing the right thing and just making sure that our residents have the infrastructure to stay safe.”
Alter said heavy rain cannot be prevented, but the city’s goal is to have infrastructure in place to help keep people safe when it happens.
FILE – LinkedIn logos are displayed on an iPhone and computer screen. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation into LinkedIn over allegations that the professional networking platform misleads consumers with advertising and profiting from misleading or fake job listings, otherwise known as “ghost jobs.”
LinkedIn investigation
In this photo illustration a Linkedin logo seen displayed on a mobile phone. (Photo Illustration by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
What we know:
Texas announced on Tuesday it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) seeking documents, data and internal communications related to LinkedIn’s advertising, marketing, job listing verification practices and its Premium subscription services.
The investigation centers on whether LinkedIn violated Texas’ consumer protection laws by promoting paid subscription services while allegedly failing to disclose that some job listings on the platform may not actually be representative of hiring opportunities.
What is a ‘ghost job’?
An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of a LinkedIn logo displayed on a computer screen. On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and the world’s largest professional networking platform, with more than 1 billion registered users worldwide.
A “ghost job” generally refers to a position advertised online that either is no longer available or that an employer has no immediate intention of filling. The attorney general’s office cited independent studies estimating that ghost jobs account for between one-fifth and one-third of online job postings.
Texas AG targets Premium Subscription Fees
Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What they’re saying:
According to the office of the attorney general, LinkedIn does not independently verify the hiring status of most job listings on its platform. Ken Paxton’s office alleges that the company’s marketing for its Premium subscription services does not disclose that a significant number of postings could be inactive, unfilled or not reflect genuine employment opportunity.
“I will use every resource available to my office to help job-seeking Texans find and secure real employment opportunities,” Paxton said in a statement. “LinkedIn has a duty to provide the services it advertises and ensure that consumers paying for Premium subscriptions are receiving access to legitimate job postings.”
Texas officials said LinkedIn’s Premium Career and Premium Business subscriptions cost about $39.99 and $69.99 per month, respectively, and are marketed to jobseekers looking to improve their employment prospects.
What’s next:
The investigation does not include any formal allegations of wrongdoing, and no lawsuit has been filed.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
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