VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — News 3 is hearing from the Jewish community in Hampton Roads as people react to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
Israel declared war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it launched a surprise attack on the nation early Saturday morning during a major Jewish holiday.
WATCH: Over 1,000 killed after unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel
Rabbi Israel Zoberman, founder of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach, has been glued to the TV, watching the situation unfold after Hamas' attack on Israel over the weekend at the Gaza Strip.
"Outraged. Violated. Disbelief," he told News 3's Jay Greene when asked to describe his feelings. "What was done by the Hamas gang, by those terrorists, violates all that we hold sacred in Western civilization."
Zoberman has family in Israel right now.
"My two sisters in Haifa and other friends," he said. "I know some Americans are caught up and cannot return because there's no travel right now."
Zoberman, 77, has spent the last 49 years as a rabbi, and he's been to the Gaza Strip several times.
READ MORE: Israel declares war on Hamas after surprise attack from Gaza
As he watches what's happening in the present, following the Hamas attack, he can't help but recall the past.
"What they did evokes images of our darkest period during the Holocaust," he said.
Zoberman's parents were Polish Holocaust survivors, and he remains hopeful for a peaceful Middle East.
"Don’t give up hope," he said in a message to Jewish people around the world. "We have been there before. You know this is a shock. This is a great shock. We shall overcome."
News
