Jewish, Palestinian local leaders share perspective as Israel-Hamas war rages on

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Speaking from the Tel Aviv airport Tuesday as she waited to fly back to Wisconsin, Miryam Rosenzweig recalled having to wait out a missile attack hours earlier.

Rosenzweig, the president of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, spent nearly three days in Israel. She said the trip was meant to show solidarity with Israelis and to see the situation for herself firsthand.

"We met with families whose family members are currently hostages in Gaza," Rosenzweig said. "We met with survivors of some of the [October 7] massacres in the south."

Rosenzweig said the scariest part came when a red alert went off, indicating a rocket attack might be imminent. She described running back into a building and hearing what she believes was the sound of the Iron Dome intercepting missiles.

"It was really loud noises. By the time we got into the building, we heard two different explosions," she said. "And then we ran into a bomb shelter with survivors of the massacre; they were adults and children, and then us."

On Milwaukee's south side, Dr. Hashim Zaibak said he's had a scare of his own during the Israel-Hamas war.

Zaibak, a native of Gaza, said during a time when communication with relatives with especially difficult amid Israeli bombing, a message got mixed up, and a cousin mistakenly told Zaibak his sister had been killed.

"For two minutes, I almost died. She was my baby sister, and her two baby daughters were my nieces," Zaibak said. "Thank God two minutes later, I found out it was false, and it was miscommunication. Can you imagine those two minutes? They were not easy."

A prominent pharmacist who was honored last year by the state Legislature after Hayat Pharmacy was named the Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year, Zaibak said he was also troubled by reports of hospitals in Gaza fearing a shortage of good and people not having access to the medicines they need.

"For the people who need their insulin, the people who need their seizure medication, the people who need their asthma medication, all of these diseases, if you don't take care of them with medications, the person can die," Zaibak said. "And they can die very quickly."

Both Zaibak and Rosenzweig said they take seriously the civilian deaths that were happening in jarring numbers over the past three weeks. Israeli officials say Hamas' October 7 attack killed more than 1,400 people, most of who civilians, including children.

Following the attack, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation held a vigil that drew 1,000 attendees. 

The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported more than 8,500 civilian casualties following the bombing of a refugee camp Tuesday. The Israeli military confirmed the bombing and defended it, saying a top Hamas commander was hiding at the campsite.

Because of both history and recent events, Rosenzweig and Zaibak do have some sharply diverging views.

"Where I stand, and what I heard consistently in Israel, is that we have to remember that there was a ceasefire on October 6," Rosenzweig said. "And on October 7, thousands of Palestinian Hamas terrorists rushed into Israel and murdered people."

Zaibak said long before Hamas existed, Palestinians had grown resentful over the loss of land and freedom, citing the spread of Israeli settlements that displaced Palestinians.

"This did not start on the 7th of October. This issue's been going on for a long time," Zaibak said. "And without justice, unfortunately, there's gonna be no peace."

At the same time, both community leaders said they did not want to lose sight of the one thing everyone involved has in common.

"If that civilian is killed in Egypt, in Israel, in Palestine, they're all human beings," Zaibak said.