Milwaukee protesters say Palestinian lives don't get as much respect as Israeli lives

For the few hundred Palestinian-Americans and their supporters who gathered Tuesday evening outside the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis needs to be seen in much larger context than last Saturday and days since then.

They see Israel as an occupying force that has long mistreated and subjugated the Palestinian people.

"The anguish that the members of the Jewish community feel, we've been feeling it for 75 years," said Munjed Ahmad, a board member of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest mosque. "We've felt that pain for decades."

In front of a crowd waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh, or black and white checkered scarves, Ahmad read a statement from Mohammad Hamad, of Brookfield, who said his 66-year-old sister was killed during Israeli airstrikes Monday in Gaza while on a trip to the market for food and supplies.

The woman, Faheemah Jameel Hamad, was educated in Egypt and worked as a speech therapist, special education teacher and school principal in Gaza, a narrow strip of territory with over 2 million residents. She worked with children who had suffered trauma and lost their ability to speak. She also was the caregiver for her elderly mother, Hamad said.

"During her short trip to the market, Faheema was murdered by massive bombs dropped into the civilian market by Israel's ruthless army," Hamad said in the statement.

More: US death toll rises to 22; Hamas denies targeting kids; misery across Gaza: Live updates

The airstrikes were in retaliation for Hamas launching a massive, coordinated attack on Israeli towns Saturday, killing hundreds of civilians and taking over 150 people hostage. Militants gunned down people in their homes and cars, at bus stops and at a music festival.

Israel declared war in response and vowed a complete siege of Gaza. Its bombing campaign has intensified in recent days, reducing buildings to rubble in the densely populated strip of land. Israel has cut off food, water and fuel to Gaza; hospitals there said supplies and fuel for generators were running out. Hamas has warned it will kill an Israeli hostage every time Israel bombs civilian targets in Gaza without warning.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Hamas' attack on Israel as "pure, unadulterated evil" and an act of terrorism, using terms such as "butchered," "slaughtered" and "atrocities." Biden said Hamas' threat about killing hostages violates "every code of human morality," comparing Hamas' "blood-thirstiness" to the worst rampages of ISIS.

The United States and the European Union have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have been killed in Israel as of Wednesday. In Gaza, 1,055 people have been killed, according to authorities there; Israel says hundreds of Hamas fighters are among them.

Palestinian-Americans decry deaths of innocent civilians

Ahmad, the mosque board member, argued it was important to call attention to the deaths of Palestinian civilians as well as Israelis.

"Any death of any innocent person is tragic, and no one in their right mind would be celebrating or happy at the death of innocent people, period, full stop," he said. "But that has to be any innocent people. It's not selective."

The Gaza Health Ministry said 60 percent of the wounded were women and children, a statistic those at the Milwaukee rally argued was evidence of Israel's "inhumane attacks." Othman Atta, director of the Islamic Society, said it amounted to collective punishment, a war crime under international law, which punishes a group for the actions of individuals.

"This is not, as Israel is trying to say, a war against Hamas. It is a war against the millions of Palestinians who reside in Gaza," Atta said.

Those at the rally criticized Biden for siding with Israel and called on the U.S. to end military aid to Israel.

"Mr. President, you couldn't be a bigger hypocrite when it comes to human rights," Ahmad told the crowd, earning cheers and applause. "The lives of Palestinian people are worth just as much as anybody else."

Palestinians are one of the largest ethnic groups in the local Muslim community, leaders said. Atta estimated there are roughly 10,000 Palestinian-Americans in southeast Wisconsin, a region that includes Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha.

Esam Sakalla, of Franklin, who brought his three children to the rally, said bombs destroyed his relatives' homes in Gaza. He tried to figure out a way to get them out of the territory, but it's impossible, he said. They are worried for their safety and have been sending him texts that read, "This might be the last time you talk to us."

"There is no differentiation between women, elderly people, or even kids," Sakala said.

A Israeli military spokesperson said the country was trying to “evacuate civilian populations from areas where Hamas has a military presence” before unleashing “powerful destruction.”

The name Hamas was largely absent from the speeches Tuesday in Milwaukee. The focus was on civilian deaths.

Palestinian-Americans are feeling the pain of the loss of innocent lives, said Khadijah Sarsour, 22, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student studying psychology.

"It hurts us when we wake up, when we go to sleep, because everyone's dying," she said.

Protesters criticize Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians

Those at the rally looked beyond the recent outbreak in violence and said they wanted an end to what they see as an Israeli occupation.

Wasim Mohamed, 20, a UW-Milwaukee student in computer engineering, lived his first 18 years in the West Bank, another Palestinian territory. It is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, but the Israeli military maintains numerous checkpoints across the territory.

While back home last summer, at a checkpoint between towns, he handed an Israeli soldier his American identification card and the soldier pointed a gun at him for no reason, he said. His point was that such actions create an environment of fear.

"They try to shoot us when we don't do anything," Mohamed said.

Tensions have been high in recent months in the West Bank amid clashes between Jewish settlers living in unauthorized outposts and Palestinians, who say mounting settler violence has gone unchecked.

One woman at the rally, Khitam Atshan, who is originally from Ramallah in the West Bank, criticized a comment from the Israeli defense minister who said, "We are fighting human animals," apparently referring to Hamas fighters. Atshan argued it was another example of Israel's dehumanizing treatment of Palestinians.

"We like peace. But give it to us," she said.

Ahmad Owais, of Milwaukee, at the rally with his two children, ages 5 and 4, is grateful to be able to raise his kids safely in the U.S. But he worries about his brother's children, who live in the West Bank. Making a point about their shared humanity, Owais said his children are smart and will have opportunities in America, but they'd be smart if they lived in Palestinian territories, too.

"The kids here or there are the same," he said.

Abeer Ayesh, of Franklin, who brought her four daughters to the rally, said it has been nerve-wracking to see the death toll of children rise in Gaza, which she called "a literal prison." Advocates are concerned that safe places in Gaza are dwindling as Israeli airstrikes level entire city blocks. A border crossing to Egypt has been blocked, and aid groups are calling for corridors to bring in supplies.

"All they want is to be able to live freely and have the rights that every other human being wants, and they are not given that fair right," Ayesh said.

Ahmad believes the death toll will rise "exponentially" in the coming days. But he also believes in the strength of the Palestinian people.

"The Palestinian people will show what they've always shown in the last 75 years, which is resilience. They will show a steadfastness and a resolve to be free," he said. "I don't think they have a choice."

"You can put a lion in a corner for so long and it's not going to come out purring," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also covered a gathering of Jewish community members Monday evening in Fox Point as they pledged support for Israel. Read the story here.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Palestinians denounce deadly Israeli airstrikes in Gaza