According to local reports, an Illinois landlord who was convicted of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in a hate-fueled attack days after the Israel-Hamas war began will face 53 years in prison.
Joseph Czuba, 73, was sentenced on May 2 for the murder of kindergartener Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanaan Shaheen. Prosecutors said Czuba attacked his tenants out of a “hatred of Muslims” and in response to a discussion about the Middle East conflict.
In February, a jury found Czuba guilty of murder, attempted murder, and hate crime charges in a stabbing that shocked the nation, triggering a hate crime investigation by the Justice Department and prompting condemnation from officials, including former President Joe Biden.
Outside the courtroom, Wadee’s grandfather, Mahmoud Yousef, told reporters that no sentence is “justified,” and that any punishment Czuba receives will pale in comparison to the loss his family will suffer indefinitely.
“It doesn’t matter what the numbers are,” he told me. “He took a life from us.” “He chose a future.”
Czuba appeared in court for the sentencing hearing but declined to make a statement, according to the Chicago Tribune.
On October 14, 2023, Will County deputies discovered Wadee and his mother with severe stab wounds in one of the two bedrooms she rented from Czuba in Plainfield, a suburb 40 miles outside Chicago. Wadee was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife and died at the hospital shortly after the attack.
Prosecutors stated that in the days preceding the murder, Czuba “expressed concern over the Hamas/Israel conflict and had asked Hanan to move out because she and Wadee were Muslim.”
The stabbing occurred a week after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and holding 250 hostage. Gaza health officials report that Israel’s military offensive against Hamas has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians.
What happened during hate-fueled attack?
Shaheen, who survived more than a dozen stab wounds, told authorities that the attack began shortly after Czuba confronted her about the Israel-Hamas conflict and she suggested they “pray for peace,” according to court records.
Prosecutors allege that Czuba forced his way into Shaheen’s bedroom and attacked her with a large knife. She managed to lock herself in a bathroom, after which he turned to Wadee and stabbed him over two dozen times. When authorities arrived, they discovered the boy with the knife still in his body.
Czuba’s ex-wife, who divorced him after his arrest and later testified against him, claimed he feared being attacked by people of Middle Eastern descent. Before the murder, Czuba’s ex-wife claimed he told her he wanted Shaheen and Wadee to leave, fearing Shaheen would summon “Palestinian friends or family to harm them.”
Prosecutors claim that Czuba’s violent outburst was caused by listening to anti-Muslim rhetoric on conservative talk radio. After Czuba was found guilty, Johnny Simon, an attorney for Wadee’s family, told USA TODAY that the next step in the case will be to determine whether the pundits Czuba followed bear any legal responsibility, as well as those who heard his racist comments but did nothing.
“Anyone who knew about that played a part in this,” Simon told reporters. “This demonstrates that what people say, words, and rhetoric matter. “We must be accountable for what we say because it has a real impact on people.”
The attack drew quick condemnation
The attack was one of the worst in the United States related to the Middle East conflict, and it occurred as law enforcement officials across the country warned of an increased threat of violence as tensions rose over the war.
Former President Joe Biden condemned the stabbings the day after they occurred, and October 2024 will mark the one-year anniversary of the boy’s death. The Justice Department, led by former Attorney General Merrick Garland, also launched a hate crime investigation into the attack.
In September, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution honoring Wadee, stating, “This resolution recognizes the loss of Wadee Alfayoumi and that the United States has zero tolerance for hate crimes, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab discrimination.”
Plainfield is located in northeastern Illinois, which has some of the country’s largest Palestinian communities. Wadee’s funeral was attended by hundreds of people, some of whom waved Palestinian flags.
In February, the city of Plainfield dedicated a playground to the boy.