The Post-Boston Islamophobic Hate Crimes Have Begun

We have been here before.

By Julianne Hing Apr 18, 2013

On Wednesday, a white man harassed and punched a Palestinian woman in Medford, Massachusetts, calling her a "terrorist" and blaming her for the deadly bombing attack at the Boston Marathon.

Hema Abolaban, a physician, was walking down the street with a friend when they were approached. Malden Patch reported:

"He was screaming ‘F_ you Muslims! You are terrorists! I hate you! You are involved in the Boston explosions! F_ you!’" Abolaban remembered. "Oh my lord, I was extremely shocked."

She said the man – described as a white male in his thirties wearing dark sunglasses – kept shouting and walking toward her as she backed away.

"I did not say anything to him," she said. "Not even that we aren’t terrorists…he was so aggressive."

Abolaban is not alone. The New York Post reports that a Bangladeshi man was beaten up by Latino men outside a Bronx Applebee’s restaurant. He, too, was blamed for the Boston bombing.