Some Palestinian Americans say they're feeling threatened since Hamas attack on Israel
CLIFTON, N.J. - Some Palestinian Americans say they've felt threatened since the attacks in Israel.
With relatives still in Gaza, there's a growing fear about safety.
Staten Island resident Dina Massoud is terrified for her daughters - 12, 15 and 16 - who are stuck in Gaza.
A translator said Massoud is "pleading with the world, pleading with America, pleading with Biden to bring her kids back. She just wants them in her lap."
"I need my father to stay alive. I stay up at night, every night, praying and hoping he comes home safely," Paterson resident Duaa Abufares said.
On Monday, Abufares joined several Palestinian American groups to speak out.
"I am tired of our voices not being heard. We want this violence to end," Abufares said.
Palestinian American groups said 500 Americans are in Gaza, and their plight is not getting attention.
"Every day we sit waiting on our phones to see if our friends and our family are alive," Rania Mustafa said.
Palestinian Americans also say they're seeing an uptick in what they call bias incidents.
"The CAIR New Jersey office has not received this many calls for help since the Muslim ban of 2017," Selaedin Maksut of CAIR New Jersey said.
Paterson's Deputy Mayor Raed Odeh said he received a threat at his business and he believes it's because he's Palestinian.
"I pick up the phone. Yes, we want to come burn you, we're going to come burn your business and your family, and then they hang up," Odeh said.
The Palestinian American groups said they don't have a number on the incidents because calls continue to come in.
The New Jersey attorney general's office said it's working to make sure both Palestinian and Jewish communities in the state are safe.
