Israel declared war on Gaza on Oct. 7 in response to recent attacks by Hamas, the terrorist group that rules the strip. Israel/Palestine has been a warzone for decades. Recently, in May 2021, Israel attempted to remove many Palestinians by force for 11 days because of protests from the Palestinians. Citizens of Gaza have expressed their distaste for Israel because of Israeli attacks on women, the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the ongoing siege of Gaza. For these reasons, Hamas attacked Israel. Since the beginning of the war, 1,400 people have died in Israel and 8,005 people have died in Palestine. However both states have been at war several times over the past 100 years due to disagreements over religion between Judaism and Islam. Kolya Resnick ’26 is a student at Grosse Pointe South who is Jewish.
“They’ve been fighting for some time now, declaring war back and forth on each other, Israel has acquired Gaza and a few other territories before in the Yom Kippur War and the Six Days War,” said Resnick ’26. “Obviously, it’s a horrible war, and it’s a shame that we cannot have peace between Palestinians and Jewish people alike.”
The United States government in response has been in support of the Israeli government and the innocent people of Gaza. United States President Joe Biden provided Israel with military aid, humanitarian assistance, security, intelligence and diplomatic support on Oct. 7. As well as sending humanitarian support to Gaza to help the innocent people affected by this war, Biden stated that they will support Israel, but they need to find a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East. One major problem the United States has right now is the lack of a speaker of the house to set up the agenda. Since the removal of McCarthy the house of representatives cannot vote or discuss the ongoing conflict in Israel. Government teach Andrew Taylor has been keeping up with the United States Government’s response to the tragic war.
“I do understand that but I do want to support Israel so that they are well prepared to defend themselves, but that doesn’t mean we should be encouraging them to use weapons,” Andrew Taylor said. “We want them looking for ways to de-escalate, and that’s what the president was looking to do this week by mentioning the need for peace and a two-state solution.”
In Detroit, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) has supported those under attack in Israel and is advocating for support from many across social media. The JCRC has been a vital part of Jewish representation in state legislatures and congress in the United States and improving relations between Jewish people to other groups such as Muslims. The JCRC has been posting updates to the war on social media, providing vital information. Assistant Director Sam Dubin has been working hard to inform many people about the ongoing conflict, and to represent Jewish people of the United States.
“Israel has the right to defend itself, Israel will always defend itself there are innocent people on both sides of this war,” Sam Dubin said. “The JCRC has been committed to representing the Jewish community in Detroit and in Congress. We hope to provide more resources to those in Israel and to the innocent families in Gaza.”
The war between Hamas and Israel is ongoing, with people on both sides wishing for the conflict to come to a swift end. There is no scenario where a nation benefits from prolonged warfare. The people that suffer the most are the people who were involved the least in this war, the best case scenario we can hope for is a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel and bring an end to the mass bloodshed across the middle east.
