Hesham A. Ayyad claimed a driver yelled, ‘Kill all Palestinians’ and ‘Long live Israel’ before swerving at him and yelling ‘Die!’
By World Israel News Staff
A Palestinian-American is facing multiple charges for allegedly pretending to be a victim of an anti-Muslim hate crime last month.
Twenty-year-old Hesham A. Ayyad and his 19-year-old brother, Khalil A. Ayyad were charged last week with assault and domestic violence.
In addition, police are charging Ayyad with making a false alarm, obstructing police business, and falsification.
This is a startling development from the initial case which began on October 22 when Ayyad filed a complaint with the police that he was a victim of a hate crime.
Hesham was in a neck brace after being taken to the hospital and claimed he was a victim of a “racially motivated” collision that took place on Cook Road in Olmstead Township, Ohio. North Ridgeville detectives began investigating the case.
The following day, a detailed article about the incident was published by the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Cleveland branch describing the alleged incident from Ayyad’s point of view.
According to Ayyad’s account, as depicted in the article, a car started following him and the driver yelled, “Kill all Palestinians” and “Long live Israel.” The driver swerved, attempting to hit Ayyad, and yelled “Die!” before leaving the scene.
However, this account was later questioned by police, who suspected that instead Hesham had been injured not in an anti-Muslim hate crime but in an altercation with his younger brother Khalil. Video footage of the fight between the two brothers confirmed this conclusion.
The brothers were released last Wednesday on bond and are expected to appear in municipal court on Tuesday.
CAIR has not commented on the update in the case and the alleged falsification of the hate crime. Currently the original account of the supposed incident still appears on the CAIR website.