Beth Sholom Congregation, Conemaugh Islamic Center leaders mourn 'innocent lives' lost in Israel-Hamas conflict

Oct. 13—Like millions of other people around the world, Beth Sholom Congregation member Barry Rudel was horrified to discover hundreds of fellow Jews were killed on Saturday in a brutal act of terrorism, he said.

"Hundreds of innocent lives were lost — many outside the rules of war," Rudel said.

Imam Fouad ElBayly, of the Conemaugh Islamic Center in Johnstown's Kernville section, said that he too was saddened and horrified to see a news bulletin reporting that the militant group Hamas ambushed its Israeli neighbors.

Now, ElBayly is praying for the safety of the citizens living in both countries — the families of the thousands already killed, as well as those trapped within the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

"Now, there's destruction on both sides — too many people are already hurt," ElBayly said, noting that civilians are dying on both sides of the conflict. "When this happens, nobody wins, because every soul on earth is a gift from God."

Both Rudel, an executive board member with Beth Sholom in Westmont Borough, and ElBayly, a Egyptian native who has called Somerset home since the 1970s, spoke with The Tribune-Democrat in telephone interviews as the Middle East conflict entered its sixth day.

Tension has lingered for decades between Israel and Hamas, a Sunni Islamist political and militant organization that governs the Palestinian territories within the Gaza Strip.

War erupted over the weekend after Hamas launched a surprise assault against Israel while the country was celebrating a week-long religious festival.

Firing thousands of missiles from Gaza, breaching barriers with bulldozers and marching in from motorboats, Hamas militants destroyed Jewish buildings and killed at least 1,200 civilians and soldiers before returning to the Gaza Strip with dozens of hostages, reports show. Some Israeli officials called the brazen attack "our 9/11."

Israel has launched a seemingly uninterrupted onslaught of airstrikes in response, crippling entire Palestinian neighborhoods and targeting Hamas enclaves.

According to Palestinian officials, at least 1,400 people have died in the Gaza Strip as of Thursday. Both sides have said the others' attacks have claimed hundreds of children and damaged hospitals — with a medical center on the coast of Israel the first to be hit by invaders.

In recent days, Israel has clamped down on a blockade preventing fuel and outside aid to flow into the Strip, most of which is now without electricity.

Hamas has refused to recognize Israel as a nation and sought to overtake land it views as theirs for years.

Still, ElBayly said he cannot fathom what prompted Hamas to carry out Saturday's attack, noting that the organization should have known Israel and its far superior military would respond with force.

But it's the common people of the Gaza Strip who'll suffer indiscriminately, and likely the most, he said.

"On TV, you see the images of the Israeli people impacted by the war — and it is very sad," he said, "but what no one sees is that there are Palestinians suffering now, too. There are thousands of sad stories now."

To Rudel, Hamas is to blame in Gaza, too. He said the country is using not only captured Israelis, but also its own citizens as shields by hiding within their neighborhoods' commercial districts and other community hubs.

He said Hamas' attack opened a window for the world — Johns-town included — to see the relentless threat that the militant organization has posed to Israel for decades.

"We think all Americans are now seeing the immense scale and reach of the terrorist assault by Hamas against Israel," he said, "and we pray for all of those being held hostage in Gaza."

The attack reminded Rudel of a 1974 massacre in Israel in which Marxist militants from a secular Palestinian organization captured and later slaughtered 25 hostages. Twenty-two of them were children, he said.

Beth Sholom's deep ties to Israel date back decades before that, which makes viewing this week's atrocities even more personal, Rudel said.

Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, was among the guests of honor when members of the Glosser family, perhaps Johnstown's most prominent Jewish family, were married in Israel generations ago, he said. He said Beth Sholom has also conducted efforts to support new immigrants, the young and the elderly in Israel for more than 70 years.

He said the congregation has been comforted by phone calls and text messages of support in recent days from fellow community residents, many of them non-Jews.

"As Jews, Beth Sholom Congregation stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel, with our co-religionists everywhere and with the good people of all faiths in condemning terrorism in all forms," Rudel said.

As of Thursday, there was no end in sight for the war. ElBayly said that leaders on both sides — and major powers such as the U.S. — should take a step back and look for a peaceful way to bring it to an end.

He called for diplomatic "human interference" for the sake of the lives at risk in the Middle East.

"With all the power Israel has, (Hamas) will not be able to stop them, but it's the Palestinian civilians who will pay the price," he said.

His message to both sides' leaders: "Let us all live in peace."

Both sides need to find a way to respect one another's rights and lives, ElBayly said.

"Let us find a way to work together so there's no more bloodshed," he said. "Peace is the only solution."