American Jews and Palestinians face fear and hatred

As the ripple effects from the war between Israel and Hamas are felt around the world, Palestinian and Jewish Americans describe a growing sense of fear due to a rise in threats and harassment.

As hundreds of people gathered for a peaceful rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on 13 October, a man wielding a gun started yelling racial slurs.

People scattered, running for their lives, said Omar Mussa, who had helped organise the pro-Palestinian event on the steps of the state Capitol.

"He came to this rally to inflict fear and terror onto us," the 30-year-old Palestinian American told the BBC. "The last thing that you want is to be fearful to gather with your people and to speak about your truth and to speak about what you believe."

The man who allegedly pointed the firearm at the crowd while spewing Islamaphobic rhetoric has been charged with crimes including ethnic intimidation and making terroristic threats.