By Haneen Alkabasi, Intern
The conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel has reached global portions, but it has also affected the local community which has strong feelings about what is unfolding.
Sidratul Muntaha of Bristol said she has been living in this city most of her life after moving from Bangladesh and has attended masjid at Daar-ul-Ehsaan in the past, where she knows many people who side with the Palestinians, who have suffered as the result of the steps taken by the Israeli government to eradicate Hamas.
At the moment, over 30,000 Palestinians who have their homes in Gaza have been killed, among them over 14,000 women and children.
As a political science major at the University of Connecticut, Muntaha said she knows about the subject, not only because she learned about the subject from her classes on Islamic studies but also because she is passionate about discrimination and injustice.’
“I stand with Palestine,” Muntaha said, adding “When it comes to Bristol residents, they are very uneducated” about the subject.
Muntaha said raising awareness is important because the media has been slanted. She said a way to spread awareness is by having a rally in downtown or community talks to educate schools about what is going on.
She would like to see the Daar-ul-Ehsaan Mosque have events and fundraisers to raise money for Palestine like the Palestine Coalition at the mosque in neighboring Berlin.
“Especially for the Muslim community, it’s definitely something that’s been hurting a lot of people,” Muntaha said.
She said members of the Muslim community are feeling all these emotions but are also thinking about what actions they can take. A lot of people feel hopeless, she said, especially because the U.S. government has not taken a stronger stance against the Israeli offensive.
“Muslim or not, a lot of them are mad at the fact that our taxes are being used for evil,” Muntaha said about the members of the Musliim community.
A member and representative of the Daar-ul-Ehsaan Mosque, Isa Paine, said the community prays for the people of Palestine and wishes they could do more to help them.
Paine said he recommends anyone in the Bristol community who wants to do more to support the Palestinian people to select a well-established, well-vetted organization and contribute financially through that organization.
“We at Daar-ul-Ehsaan feel that, in times like these, the best service we can provide to our community is to remain focused on our obligations to our Lord and our duties to the people who live in the Bristol area,” Paine said in an email.
Paine said the mosque runs The Blessed Pantry, a non-denominational food pantry, to provide food for anyone in need in the area.
He said the focus remains on their duties to Allah (God) and the people who live in the Bristol area, both Muslim and non-Muslim. He said issues such as politics distract them from their focus.
A member of the Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation in Southing, which includes members from Bristol, Alexandra Gizhitsa-Anderson said her family is from Ukraine and Iran. She said they are Jewish, but also have Christian family members.
“I definitely support Israel’s right to exist,” Gizhitsa-Anderson said. “The country isn’t going anywhere. The Jewish population has been through enough historically.”
Gizhitsa-Anderson said she believes in a two-state solution. She said she always believed that Gaza and the West Bank deserve dignity and right to self-determination.
However, there is no way that anybody, referring to the Israeli government, is going to give up defenses for multiple reasons, she said.
“I would say a majority of people would tell you that this is just another Middle Eastern warfare,” Gizhitsa-Anderson said. “People who are knowledgeable about the war hold very strong opinions.”
As for local efforts, Gizhitsa-Anderson said there has been increased security after a few bomb threats, but there is nothing different going on at the Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation in any major way.
She said it had been fairly normal, with fundraising to help with their family members’ needs. She said all of their activities are running as they were other than that.
“This isn’t the first time there is a war in the Middle East, and this isn’t the first time our families’ experienced hardship,” Gizhitsa-Anderson said.
She said the Jewish organizations are always looking for a dialogue with neighbors and nearby Muslim families. She said they want to set an example to local communities of having difficult conversations.
“When it comes to locally in Bristol and Southington, as long as people are open to honest and sincere dialogue,” Gizhitsa-Anderson said, “that is the most valuable conversation to have today.”
A representive of the Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation did not respond to a request to interview.
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