Berkeley officials condemn recent anti-Muslim hate crime

Several Berkeley City Council members have condemned a recent anti-Muslim hate crime — and plan to take a stand against Islamophobia at their meeting next week.

Councilman Igor Tregub, who represents downtown Berkeley, authored the urgency item, which reaffirms the city's "unwavering support for the Muslim community in Berkeley and beyond."

On Tuesday night, the City Council will need to accept his item, which was cosponsored by Terry Taplin and Cecilia Lunaparra, if they want to vote on it.

The resolution came in the wake of last weekend's hate crime report from a Muslim business owner who found offensive graffiti, with the words "F--k Islam," on her shop window at 1834 University Ave. near Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Negeene Mosaed, a local Iranian-American activist, said she found the graffiti at Berkeley Community Physical Therapy on Saturday, which was the first day of Ramadan.

Mosaed said last weekend's vandalism was only the latest in a string of incidents in which "pro-peace and anti-genocide posters" on her window had been defaced.

"No one should live in fear because of their religion," Mosaed said in a prepared statement about the incident that was released by the Berkeley Network for Palestine.

On Monday, dozens of local activists held a vigil against hate outside the South Berkeley Senior Center to express support for Mosaed and others in her position.

Majdi Gaith, a Palestinian-American business owner whose Berkeley cafe, Jaffa Coffee Roasters, has also been repeatedly defaced in vandalisms classified as hate crimes, was one of several people to speak Monday night.

" This is not stopping. And this can turn into Palestine. That's my worry," Gaith said. "You know, just let it go and just start vandalizing, and hate crimes left and right."

Jaffa Coffee Roasters was defaced four times in 45 days, Gaith said, adding that vandalism hate crimes should be taken more seriously and have higher penalties.

Gaith and others who spoke Monday said it felt like hate crimes targeting Muslims generally receive less attention and concern than those targeting other groups.

Vigil organizer Elana Auerbach said there had been other reports of Islamophobia in Berkeley as well, including ceasefire posters and a mural at Starry Plough, an  Irish-Palestinian pub, that had been defaced.

Writing on Instagram this week, Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii said she was "deeply disturbed and saddened by the report of anti-Muslim graffiti defacing a Berkeley business, especially during the sacred month of Ramadan."

"Hate has no place in our city and must not be tolerated," she wrote. "Berkeley takes pride in its rich diversity, and we remain committed to embracing, uplifting, and standing together as one united community."

According to Berkeley police data, there were 46 hate crimes in Berkeley in 2023, including two classified as anti-Arab, and 45 last year, with six classified as anti-Arab or anti-Muslim.

Next week's council item points to state data that found a 60% increase in reported Anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias events in California between 2022 and 2023.

After Monday night's vigil, many members of the demonstration went inside the South Berkeley Senior Center to attend a Peace and Justice Commission meeting where a resolution focused on Gaza was up for discussion.

But later in the night, before the Gaza item could be heard, Commissioner Luke Taylor withdrew it from the agenda.

He did not provide a reason for the change.