State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid (21st) and River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci publicly expressed their condolences last week after the murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume and his injured mother, Hanaan Shahin. Rashid did not mince words in linking the hate crime to the ongoing Middle East conflict and dehumanizing media coverage. He said that such media coverage and irresponsible statements from elected officials contributed to the tragedy. “Let’s not sugarcoat it: this hate crime is a result of the dehumanizing, one-sided media coverage of Palestinians and irresponsible statements from elected officials,” said Rashin in a statement. “Israeli spokespeople have been using genocidal language about Palestinians on news channels every day for the past week.”Rashid criticized the Israeli military's actions and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent further loss of life in Illinois and the Middle East.