The echoes of the war between Israel and Hamas are being heard around the world, including here in Milwaukee.
Thousands of people across our city are feeling saddened and hurt after news broke that Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets into Israeli towns early Saturday morning. Israel said it is now at war with Hamas and launched airstrikes in Gaza.
Miryam Rosenzweig is the President and CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Her sisters live in Israel.
“I spoke to my sister. As rockets fired she had to pull over with her baby, get out, and find shelter,” Rosenzweig recalled.
All day, she has been taking calls from people across the Milwaukee area. Some people have ties to the region, others simply want to help.
“I can’t say I have the solution to peace in the Middle East. What I do know is our community believes in a two-state solution, democracy, and human dignity,” Rosenzweig explained.
“We believe only if we see each other and experience each others pain and see the humanity in Israel and Milwaukee, that’s how were going to solve these issues.”
For Milwaukee’s Palestinian population, the news of attacks was also saddening, but not shocking.
“This isn’t something that happened over night. When people are under occupation and pressure and violence, people are going to retaliate,” Jamilah Arabiyat said.
Arabiyat is the president for Students of Justice in Palestine(SJP) at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She says there are hundreds involved with the group.
“I personally know people at the top of my head who were just there, who are still there, and who are being affected. This is a very real situation,” Arabiyat said.
While the SJP at UWM has not planned any events, Arabiyat said the American Muslims for Palestine group are planning a rally Sunday in Chicago.
The Milwaukee Jewish Federation said they have resources on their website, along with a link to donate to the Victims of Terror Fund. That provides non-medical assistance to victims of terror.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
