1 Year Later: IE Officials Offer Disparate Views Of Gaza Hostilities

INLAND EMPIRE, CA - Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas raid into Israel, prompting an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and a scale of destruction that seems to have "no limits," eliciting a mixture of emotions from Arabic and Jewish residents of the Inland Empire, all of whom want peaceful outcomes but are largely beset by uncertainty regarding the ways to achieve them.

"It's shocking to see, so much violence against the people of Gaza," UC Riverside graduate student and Students for Justice in Palestine activist Samia Alkam told City News Service. "It's something I've never seen. I have to keep reminding myself of the faith our people have had. It's something we should all feel inspired by."

Marcia Stein, a five-decade resident of Rancho Mirage and former member of Jewish Federation of the Desert, told CNS she "would like to see something change" to end hostilities, worrying over the fate of her dozen or so close friends around Tel Aviv.

"Life for them right now is running to hide in bomb shelters and staying for hours and hours," Stein said. "It's a terrible way to try to live."

Jani Goldberg of Palm Desert, who has joined Stein in demonstrations throughout the Coachella Valley supporting Israel, said even though she's never visited the Jewish State, "it's my homeland," and Israelis must "do everything they can to protect themselves."

For Imam Mahmoud Harmoush of the Islamic Center of Riverside, the ever- expanding casualty list in Gaza strikes at the heart of his membership.

"Not only is this a religious aggression and genocide of Palestinians, but this is anti-humanity," Harmoush said. "We are offering condolences almost every other day to people who have lost family members. We would like to see the crisis solved through a political process. But obviously there's another plan, and that is to eliminate as many people as possible and inflict complete destruction on the Gaza Strip."

The latest figures published by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, relying on data provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, indicates 42,000 Gazans -- nearly 17,000 of them children -- have been killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. Another 97,000 have been injured, sometimes irreparably. The number of Israeli civilians who have died since the Hamas incursion targeting the Nova Music Festival, which led to hostages being taken, on Oct. 7, 2023, is estimated at 1,200, with 5,432 injured.

In the yearlong Gaza siege, along with Palestinian civilians, humanitarian aid workers, medical professionals and journalists have been killed. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 116 news people -- 111 of them Palestinian -- have been fatally wounded while trying "to cover devastating Israeli air strikes, famine, the displacement of 90% of Gaza's population and the destruction of 80% of its buildings."

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda won an Emmy award for her coverage of IDF drone strikes and rocket fire on hospitals, schools, refugee camps and whole city blocks, where she had been sleeping in tents, cars or open ground. Her documentary compilation was titled, "It's Bisan from Gaza, and I'm Still Alive." She posts to social media daily.

"They put missiles in schools and hospitals," Stein said, referring to descriptions of Hamas' tactics by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his associates. "We can have peace. It's what Israel has always wanted. But Hamas' charter says they will wipe every Jew off the planet and not stop until Israel doesn't exist."

She expressed distrust in Netanyahu, but Goldberg disagreed, saying if he's the preference of most Israelis, "other people should stay out of it."

"The pressure needs to be on Hamas," she said. "Israel is a small country trying to survive. They must do whatever they can for that to happen. It's not looking good the more time goes on. But it would be pretty stupid for Israel to pull back because they wouldn't have anything to gain."

Harmoush was appalled that, despite condemnations of Israel's actions in Gaza by the International Criminal Court and U.N. General Assembly, virtually nothing has changed.
"They have said this is wrong, this is aggression, and nobody cares," according to the imam. "I don't think Netanyahu is really concerned about the (Israeli) hostages. He wants only to save his coalition of extremists. If he stops killing, there's no justification for war. As long as the U.S. and majority of European countries continue supporting this aggression, sending arms, this situation will continue. With the assassination of (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, the Israelis have shown they can kill whoever they want at any time."

Alkam, who helped organize a peaceful encampment at UCR earlier this year that netted concessions from the university on ending field trips to Israel and the use of endowment funds to invest in U.S. arms manufacturing, said in visits to her family's native West Bank home, signs are everywhere of "emboldened" Israeli settlers broadening their "occupation" of Palestinian territory.

"People feel trapped," she said. "The level of violence and disregard for human life in Gaza shows ... there are no limits or bounds for Israel because no one is holding them accountable."

She remained optimistic, however, that "there will be an end to this conflict."

"It may come from a place unanticipated, like when the French finally left Algeria," Alkam said. "I'm hoping it's within my lifetime."

Stein admitted, "I'm not sure what the answer is, but we can have peace."

"I think what's happening is horrible. How can you be okay with it?" she wondered. "But Israel has the right to make its own decisions."

For Goldberg, it's a simple solution: "Hamas, give the hostages back, lay down your arms and agree to live in peace. Then we can have a ceasefire."