Palestinian New Yorkers say they feel America has turned its back on them amid war in Israel: "There's only one issue here, which is equality"
NEW YORK -- Many Palestinians in America feel the country has turned its back on them as the war rages on between Israel and Hamas.
Not only are their friends and families trapped in Gaza, but what they call inflammatory comments by local elected officials are fanning the flames of hate.
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In Bay Ridge's Little Palestine, Mahmoud Kasem flies the Palestinian flag proudly outside his restaurant despite threats and taunts. He says someone needs to speak for the neglected and forgotten.
"If I'm fighting for something wrong, I will be the first person to close my store and take all these flags down, but there's rights, there's human beings want to live," Kasem said.
Hamas' sudden attack on Oct. 7 killed at least 1,300 Israelis, but the subsequent counteroffensive claimed more than 3,000 Palestinian lives.
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Officials from Gov. Kathy Hochul to Mayor Eric Adams denounced local Palestinian rallies, calling them "support for terrorism" and "abhorrent."
"I was literally, like, going crazy. Instead of bringing the steam down, they boiled it more. Look what happened, if they acted right from the beginning, a 6-year-old kid wouldn't be stabbed in Chicago, Illinois," Kasem said.
President Joe Biden announced $100 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday, but advocates say help from the American government has been slow and one-sided.
"There are children dying literally every day in Gaza, not only from the bombings and the violence, but also from the lack of medication. We have kids in our cancer department that are going without chemotherapy," said Steve Sosebee, founder of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
Sosebee is on Capitol Hill, trying to rescue two of his doctors stranded by the Rafah Border Crossing. While the state department is arranging charter flights for U.S. citizens in Israel, he says Americans in Gaza have been forgotten.
"There is only one side in this issue, that's the side of humanity. There's only one issue here, which is equality," Sosebee said.
Values Palestinian-Americans hope everyone in this country can uphold during this conflict.