For years, Arab American voters, like most other ethnic communities, slightly leaned toward the Democratic party but were swing voters in national and local elections. This was the pattern we observed in the early years of our more than two decades of biannual surveys of the community's voting behavior. It is no longer the case.

I arrived at my office in time to see the second plane hit and it became clear that this was no freak accident. We had been attacked. The nightmare began.

Nothing will bring back Khalid, and nothing can ease the pain of loss endured by the Jabara family. Majors must pay for his crime. But that is not enough. We must work together as a nation to demand zero tolerance for those who feed the hate that emboldens sick minds to commit murder.

Khalid Jabara was shot and killed on Aug. 12 outside his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.