TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. — Islamic and Jewish advocacy groups in the St. Louis region are organizing aid efforts as they call on Congress and leaders in the Middle East to find a path to peace and stop the bloodshed.
Israel officially declared war against the Palestinian military group Hamas on Sunday after it carried out attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Edward Ahmad Mitchell serves as the national deputy director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has a branch in Town and Country.
"The solution is clear: End the occupation of the Palestinian state based on their original borders of East Jerusalem as their capital, that is what they've been asking for for decades," Mitchell said.
He said the millions of Palestinians packed into the Gaza Strip who have nowhere else to go have grown frustrated under Israeli rule. He also called on Congress to withhold aid to Israel.
"I'd encourage all Americans to call members of Congress to stop funding injustice," Mitchell said. "It's time to step up, and it's time for peace."
Brian Herstig is the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. He said the attacks follow a painful history of Jewish people being kicked out of every country they've lived in.
"There's an emotional connection that people have," Herstig said. "We have many people from this community who have moved to Israel permanently, whose children are now being called up and fighting in this very war."
The federation has worked with partners in Israel to continue bulletproofing schools, homes and offices.
Herstig called the nature of this war unprecedented.
"We've had wars with terrorists from Gaza before, but never before have they breached Israeli borders and done hand-to-hand combat in the street with civilians," Herstig said.
The bloodshed quickly claimed hundreds of lives on both sides in densely populated territory.
"It's too small of a country. Everybody has to defend it, everybody is impacted," Herstig said.
Jewish Federations of North America, including the one here in St. Louis, are responding and working with victims to rebuild infrastructure and address trauma as the conflict continues.
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