Detroit Today: How the Israel-Hamas conflict is affecting local communities

On Saturday, Hamas launched an unprecedented, swift and surprise attack on the people of southern Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and taking hundreds more hostage.

In the days following the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a fierce offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with the intensifying war claiming hundreds of innocent civilian lives on both sides.

This morning on Detroit Today, host Stephen Henderson speaks with Washington Post foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor about what’s actually happening on the ground in Israel, as well as with members of metro Detroit’s Arab American and Jewish communities to share their perspectives on the week’s events.

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Guests:

Ishaan Tharoor is a Foreign Affairs columnist for the Washington Post. He says the Hamas attack on Israel is historic.

“Saturday, probably, if we look back at it, is the single bloodiest day for Jews around the world since the Holocaust,” says Tharoor. “It’s really hard to understate or overstate how grim and horrific the day was.”

Rabbi Asher Lopatin is the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee. He says in addition to the pain the Jewish community is feeling from Saturday’s attack, he is also hurt by the reactions — or lack thereof — from some political and religious leaders.

“It’s painful when we don’t hear from — whether it’s politicians, whether it’s religious leaders — we don’t hear that this is unacceptable,” says Lopatin. “We want to hear the way Hamas acted is not the way Muslims should act. Whatever your politics are.”

Osama Siblani is the publisher of The Arab American News. He says that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is feasible only if the United States steps up it’s leadership in the region.

“Hamas is a result of the no action by the United States that’s supposed to be leading the world,” he said. “What we need to do right now is first, lift sanctions, stop the killing, and start addressing the root of the cause: Occupation.”

Amer Zahr is a Palestinian-America author, comedian and political activist based in Dearborn. He says it has been frustrating for Palestinian Americans to hear discussions about the war in Israel as if the conflict began with Saturday’s attack.

“We hear nothing from politicians at the federal level or at the highest parts of the state level other than simply caring about Israel,” he says. “That’s the frustration that we have.”

Listen to Detroit Today with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.