Floridian: Hatred's broad black brush

Hatred's broad black brush

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD

Hours after the twin towers collapsed, a group of strangers working at the Tampa port noticed Taiseer Jadallah's complexion.

"As Salaam Alaikum," they told him. It means "Peace be upon you" in Arabic. But the strangers didn't mean it that way. Their tone suggested they meant something quite the opposite.

That afternoon, 47-year-old Jadallah, who repairs marine equipment in Tampa, ran into a normally friendly acquaintance near work. The acquaintance wanted to know if Jadallah had the "inside story" on the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington. Sickened by the mass deaths, Jadallah didn't find the remark funny. He decided to leave work early.

At home in St. Petersburg, he saw neighborhood kids playing. On a normal day, they would be with his 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, hunting for a snack at his house. But on this day, "None of the kids showed up at the door," he said.

That was how it went, the first day. And on Wednesday morning, as he walked outside to take his kids to school, he found black paint splattered all over his truck and what he believes to be a death threat taped to the window.

You cannot live in my world. Get out of it.

Jadallah, an American citizen of Palestinian heritage, turned the note over to police. "I am afraid for my kids," he said. "My kids are scared."

Jadallah says he loves America, where he has lived since his teens. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces, as did four of his five brothers. "If I die tomorrow, there will be an American flag on my coffin," he said.

Jadallah said he supports the cause of Palestinian autonomy, but watching footage of Tuesday's terrorist strikes was "like losing your loved ones."

"It's against our cause," he said. "It turns people against us."

Jadallah has been in this country 33 years. He has worn its uniform. He wonders why, to some people, that doesn't seem to count.

"I'd like to tell these people, "How many years do you have to be here in the United States to be an American?' "