NORFOLK, Va. — The Hampton Roads community has long been a mixing pot of different cultures and backgrounds.
Every time a major world event happens, it's bound to impact people right here in our region.
One of those people is Rabbi Israel Zoberman, founder of Temple Lev Tikvah Heart of Hope. Zoberman was born to Jewish parents who escaped Poland during the Holocaust. He now has family living in the city of Haifa in Israel.
“Well they spent the night in shelters you know, with their kids and grandkids," he said.
Zoberman was left shocked by the events of Saturday night, as were his countrymen and women.
“Following the Holocaust, we thought that once we have the Jewish state of Israel, the world will accept us as normal, and would honor us and appreciate our gifts to humanity," he told News 3.
However, for Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Deputy Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, this attack should not have come as a surprise.
“They’re bombing embassies, they’re committing a genocide. And they’re doing off of that with U.S. support and that has led to this conflict," Mitchell said.
Zoberman thinks differently.
"Can you imagine what the United States, or England, or any other country would’ve done? Given what Hamas did to Israel," he said.
Both Zoberman and Mitchell are worried about the religious rhetoric against Muslims and Jews if this conflict worsens. When the Israel Hamas War started in October 2023, the Council on American Islamic Relations found an unprecedented spike in Islamophobia. They marked a 216% increase in complaints.
The Anti-Defamation League saw incidents of antisemitism rise by 400%.
“When doomed and foolish wars start in the Middle East there’s blowback here at home,” Mitchell said.
This is not the only thing they agree on though. Both want peace in the Middle East.
“We cannot survive without peace in the long run. What happened yesterday, that massive attack, to me and to others was doomsday hovering above us," Zoberman said.
Mitchell agrees and thinks most Americans want peace as well, regardless of their religious background.
“I think Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, Christian Americans and others are united in that we don’t want to see another doomed and unnecessary war involving the American people," he told News 3.
