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Sense of relief felt by San Francisco communities about Gaza ceasefire

San Francisco communities feeling sense of relief about Gaza ceasefire
San Francisco communities feeling sense of relief about Gaza ceasefire 04:22

On Wednesday, after the announcement that a deal had been struck for a ceasefire in Gaza, local reaction seemed remarkably similar from both Palestinian and Israeli supporters. Both sides viewed the news with mixed emotions, with everybody feeling a sense of relief.

"Caution, fear, relief, elation, they're all in there, but relief is number one," said Rabbi Mark Bloom from Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland.  "There are real human beings being brought back alive, God willing, starting Sunday."

"We are heartbroken and relieved. This ceasefire is long overdue," said Zahra Billoo with the Council On American Islamic Relations.

This latest chapter in the Israel/Palestinian saga began abruptly on Oct. 7, 2023, with the coordinated surprise attack on Israeli citizens by Hamas. The savage violence, murder and kidnappings led many to believe it was meant to force Israel into a massive response. 

It was something Tyler Gregory, of the Jewish Community Resource Center, foresaw as he addressed a Jewish audience in a San Francisco synagogue the following day.

"Well, the first priority for Israel is getting the terrorists out. The second priority is rescuing these hostages in a harrowing situation. And then we must be prepared and be resilient for the campaign that follows inside of Gaza," he said.

The retaliation began almost immediately, with Israel releasing a furious attack, including on civilian locations, in Gaza and communities were reduced to rubble. As the campaign roared on, outraged Palestinian supporters hit the streets with protests and civil disobedience aimed at turning public opinion against the state of Israel. Samer Araabi, a member of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said he can hardly believe that the violence may finally be ending.

"A deep sense of elation, frankly, that 16 months of this, you know. We've been out on the streets, almost every week, calling politicians, talking to elected officials, organizing with our neighbors, whatever we could possibly do, blocking highways, you name it, to get someone to get us to this point of a ceasefire," he said. "We've been asking for a ceasefire since day one.  Literally day one.  And now, tens of thousands of lives later, millions of people displaced...and the thought that maybe, maybe, that might be ending today? It's huge, right? It's hard not to feel almost overwhelmed by the possibility that this carnage could stop."

Back at Temple Beth Abraham, Rabbi Bloom acknowledged that the local protests against Israel took their toll, leaving a lot of Jewish residents feeling pretty isolated.

"Yeah, we felt very alone as Jews in this area," he said. "We felt people didn't really understand the existential threat or the horror that was faced on Oct. 7.  So, we definitely felt that. We also know that we live in the Bay Area and that's not necessarily the way the entire country feels."

After so much rage and bloodshed, it's hard for anyone to feel completely confident that it may be coming to an end. But there is an eerie similarity to the timing of this deal and what happened in 1981, when the Iranian hostages were released just as Ronald Reagan, another tough-talking Republican, was being sworn into office, replacing another one-term Democrat, Jimmy Carter.

"It does feel very Carter/Reagan vibes with the way this has gone down, with Biden and Trump," said Bloom. "It does feel something like that, and actually, there was even a report in the Times of Israel, somebody said Trump accomplished more in a couple meetings than Biden did in a year."

"No one, last of all me, would think that Donald Trump would be better for our communities," said Billoo. "But it is interesting to note that it was his threats and his urging that this be resolved before he take office that coincides with when and how this happened. Is he less Islamaphobic than he was in his first term? I don't think so.  But something is different.  And so, hence the caution."

There were no winners. Israel still feels threatened and the question of Palestine's future is still very much unresolved. On the day the ceasefire was announced, people on both sides were left wondering what, if anything, was accomplished by any of this.

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