A Palestinian Arab-American man faked an anti-Palestinian hate crime after being injured in a fight with his brother, according to Ohio police, WKYC reported.
20-year-old Hesham A. Ayyad was hospitalized on October 22 after claiming to have been struck by a car in a racially-motivated ramming attack. Ayyad claimed that the driver of the vehicle yelled "Kill all Palestinians," "Long live Israel," and "die" before deliberately running him over.
Police in North Ridgeville investigated the incident, and after viewing surveillance video determined that Ayyad was not injured in a car-ramming, but during a fight with his younger brother Khalil A. Ayyad the day he claimed to have been attacked.
The brothers were arrested last week and charged with domestic violence and assault. In addition, Hesham faces charges of false alarms, falsification, and obstructing official business for faking the hate crime.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the alleged Islamophobic incident last month.
Faten Odeh, CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Interim Executive Director said: “We call on state, local and federal law enforcement authorities to monitor and investigate crimes related to the rising Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. We hope the North Ridgeville Police Department and the FBI will collect all the information they need to charge this individual with a hate crime. We should all feel safe to walk down the street to grab a bite to eat, go to the store and go to school.”
CAIR has not responded to the police findings that the hate crime was a hoax and the condemnation of the alleged ramming attack remains on the organization's website.