The Israel-Hamas war hits home hard, drives New Yorkers to take action

NEW YORK — The ripples from the conflict between Israel and Hamas have hit New York hard.

The protests and demonstrations have been the most visible examples. But they only tell a fraction of the story in a city that has both a large Muslim population and the biggest Jewish population outside of Israel. People across New York, moved by politics, compassion or both, have mobilized to help and support loved ones in the Middle East.

The unprecedented terror attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli families on towns, on kibbutzes and at a musical festival has brought together Jewish New Yorkers to organize and support loved ones in Israel. Volunteers have already gathered supplies and funds, chartered planes and continued legal help.

The picture is a bit more complicated for Palestinian Americans who fear for family and friends in Gaza and the West Bank, where Israel has launched an intense bombardment. Largely unable to help from afar, they say their best hopes to help lie in protests and advocacy in the U.S.

Death toll climbing

The unprecedented terror attacks by Hamas inside Israel a week ago sparked another round of a long simmering conflict.

Nearly 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel carries out air strikes, Al Jazeera reported Friday. Israel has imposed a total blockade on the country, cutting off access to essentials like food and fuel.

At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed, and dozens of both soldiers and civilians are being held by Hamas as hostages.

As many New Yorkers struggle to digest the conflict, its complicated history and strained foreign policy, some have found comfort by taking action.

Yana Feldman, 46, of Park Slope, is a lawyer by trade who’s worked extensively in estate planning. She’s volunteered her services to anyone who might need them as they jump on planes to go to Israel to fight or volunteer.

“We feel so helpless, you know?” Feldman said. “Like, how can I help? I can donate money, I can share information — but this is something concrete that I can actually do that will be helpful … for people who are being called up or volunteering, it’s scary and this is one tiny thing that you can do to think that things are a little bit more settled.”

She and other lawyers have been helping people get together powers of attorney, health care directives and wills.

Others are working to organize gear and supplies, chartering flights to Israel to help the people and troops there.

New York City has emerged as one of the biggest hubs of Israeli support in the nation.

Todd Wiesel, a former Israeli Defense Forces soldier, has organized a huge effort to send supplies for the IDF.

Wiesel, 29, said that a broad and expansive network has emerged in just the past few days. He’s worked with others to send gear to soldiers in Israel, coordinating with other volunteers and manufacturers.

He’s in touch with what have become 24-hour centers operating out of homes, schools and synagogues that collect and pack supplies to be shipped over, as well as donors “who have basically been standing in the airports, swiping their credit cards, paying for the flights for any soldiers,” he said.

There are volunteers filling cars with supplies and driving hours from places as far as Virginia and upstate New York to get it onto cargo planes flying out of New York City.

“It’s really been just an incredible, really Herculean effort by so many people to connect anyone they know with anyone else they know,” Wiesel said. “They have to be able to get here to find planes to get things onto planes.”

Protest and information

Palestinians in New York aren’t able to offer the same tangible help to their loved ones.

First of all, they can’t reach those who most need the help. Gaza is locked off from the rest of the world as the siege and battle continue.

All support that actually could reach most of Palestine is through organizations already operating on the ground there, like Doctors Without Borders or Medical Aid for Palestinians.

“I think part of that is that right now, there’s no way into Gaza,” Awad said. “The border with Egypt has been bombed, and is now usable. … I imagine that something like that might be set up soon, but currently, no.”

The most urgent efforts are focused on asking the U.S. government to stop funding Israeli military efforts and fighting misinformation about the conflict.

These efforts aren’t as easily quantified and have been complicated by the horrific acts of terror committed by Hamas. But for Awad and others, advocacy on social media and protests and speaking out about anti-Palestinian narratives and misinformation feels like all they can do.

“I’ve been to schools and with colleagues, to talk about what’s happening in Gaza and shifting the narrative away from focusing on Palestinians as aggressors,” Awad said, adding that narratives in the mainstream media and from American politicians have overwhelmingly focused on the need for Israel to retaliate and to condemn civilian deaths in Israel.

But, she says, that narrative excuses thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths in the conflict.

Through in-person and online conversations and advocacy, she hopes public and political opinion could shift.

“That’s one of the projects that we’re trying to do, just fight this dehumanization of our people and this championing of our deaths so blatantly,” she said. “And then, on another level, is how to push our elected officials or representatives to take a stand in support of Palestine, because there are thousands of Palestinian New Yorkers who are [their] constituents.”

There are also Jews who believe a peaceful resolution to the perennial conflict lies in reducing American military aid to Israel.

Jay Saper, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, said his group stands for a cease-fire and a stop on the U.S. government sending arms to the Israeli military.

The organization has organized a march to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Brooklyn home, as well as made calls to his office, calling on Schumer to stop sending billions of dollars every year to aid Israeli military efforts. They’ve flooded call lines to Congress, asking the federal government not to pledge any more weapons or military support to Israel.

“It’s so important that that context and history be named as the source and root of the violence that we’re seeing unfolding,” Saper said. “And that the way that we can bring an end to the loss of life is by addressing those root causes and not beating the drum of war, as President [Joe] Biden and Congress have been so quick to do.”