By: Fatima Durrani and Igor Colonno
Members of the Palestinian and Jewish communities at Long Beach State and in surrounding areas have expressed feelings of distress about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which escalated following the events on Oct. 7.
The aftermath of Oct. 7 led to a death toll of over 25,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis, according to AP News. The situation has affected people globally as they worry about the fates of relatives and friends.
The World Food Program reports that Gaza is at risk of famine due to the war. Almost 90% of children under five years old in Gaza are affected by one or more infectious diseases.
Raul Cedillo, an educator in the city of Long Beach, believes a ceasefire will be difficult to achieve but that it’s the first step to providing a chance for Palestinians to rebuild their territories. Cedillo has been a vocal supporter of Palestine on social media.
“The Palestinians are not being backed by any imperial power,” Cedillo said. “It’s only natural for there to be a resistance, as there was in the United States when the colonizers first came over.”
As an advocate for unity within multiple communities, Cedillo said many of his own students are being negatively impacted seeing Gaza “undergo a genocide.” Pro-Palestine advocates are continuing to raise awareness on social media platforms with footage in real time from Gaza and the West Bank.
“We have someone in our community who just lost 37 members of his family, and he has no one to go back to in Palestine,” said Amina Mirza, a Muslim resident in Orange County. “I pray every night for a ceasefire.”
Reuters reported an increase of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate crimes by 180% since Oct. 7, which included the stabbing of a 23-year-old Palestinian at the University of Texas. Mirza said that the situation has been weighing heavy on her and everyone within her community.
“The US continues to provide aid to Israel with our tax dollars to help commit war crimes,” Mirza said. “It does take a huge mental toll on you emotionally and part of the big thing is raising awareness.”
Many Jewish people who support Israel have another perspective on whether a ceasefire is feasible, as they’ve also been dealing with emotional stress from the situation.
Ella Tillis, an 18-year-old Jewish student at CSULB, said the war is negatively impacting her family members who live in Israel.
“They had to go in a bunker and all, because it’s dangerous out there,” Tillis said. “I was worried about my family, checking up on them and making sure they’re okay.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported on Dec. 11 that antisemitic incidents have increased by 337% since Oct. 7. The ADL recorded an all time high of 2,031 antisemitic incidents from Oct. 7 to Dec. 7., including vandalism, physical, verbal and written assaults and rallies with antisemitic rhetoric.
Tillis said Jewish students are experiencing antisemitism in their lives, including on-campus at CSULB, and are not feeling safe.
“It’s really affecting [people’s] mental states and safety because there are people hurting people for being Jewish because of all this, which being Jewish has nothing to do with,” Tillis said.
Tillis said the violence overseas has always occurred and thinks the violence won’t go away soon. However, she said the best way to end the violence would be through a ceasefire.
Many student organizations at CSULB, such as Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Student Association and Beach Hillel declined to speak on the matter, expressing fear of risk to personal safety.
The following source chose to remain anonymous by using a fake name, “Jack,” due to privacy concerns.
Jack, a Jewish CSULB student, said the war has affected most of his friends’ families and he feels very lucky to not have any family directly affected by the conflict.
“I think it has made a lot of Jews realize how badly they need their community and caused them to go search for more ways to engage with their community,” Jack said.
At school, Jack said the war has not impacted him that much, except for the protests on Oct. 10 in favor of Palestinian rights.
The promotional materials for the Oct. 10 protest at CSULB triggered him due to violent content. Jack said that justifying acts of violence is never right.
In the online sphere, Jack said that people are getting more antisemitic each day on the internet, with constant labels such as that Jews are “an international menace who control things from behind the scenes,” Jack said.
“I hope every day that the violence stops, that the people of Gaza can have peace [and] that the hostages are freed,” Jack said.