Bay Area Israelis and Palestinians watch developing war with grief, fear for future

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“Importantly, this is really just the beginning. There’s going to be some kind of war that happens and we’re sort of encouraging people to be resilient.”

For seven years, Dan Cohen helmed his Oakland-based media relations company from his new home just outside Tel Aviv — an across-the-world move intended to bring his wife and three children closer to their Jewish roots. And for seven years, life carried on in the warmth and safety he expected.

Days after the bloodiest conflict in Israel in decades and a huge military response left hundreds of people dead and thousands more injured in both Israel and Gaza some who live in the Bay Area but count ties to the Middle East reeled in shock, horror and grief.

At the same time, Palestinians and their supporters voiced fear for their relatives living in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas launched its attack on Saturday and where a full-scale invasion by Israeli soldiers was a looming possibility. They also feared a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment here in the United States, and wondered aloud what it could mean for the prospects of a long-sought Palestinian state.

“Every single Jew living here in the Bay Area knows someone — some family member, in the army — someone affected,” said Rabbi Mendel Weinfeld. “It’s scary. It’s devastating. But the Jews have gone through these things over and over again. And our trust and belief in God is rock solid.” On Monday, as Israel amassed troops outside Gaza and the ranks of its military swelled with freshly-summoned reservists, Buhaissy began to weep. His aunt vowed during one of her most recent phone calls not to flee Gaza, even if given the chance.

Tyler Gregory, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said he was “strongly encouraged” with the swift support offered to Israel by President Joe Biden and other politicians across the political spectrum, from Capitol Hill to the San Francisco Bay.Yet less than 72 hours after the start of the attack, those concerns remained an afterthought Monday for many Bay Area people with ties to the region.

 

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