Monday marks one year since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, and thousands of people have lost their lives in Israel, Gaza and surrounding countries.
Even though the war is happening halfway around the world, people in metro Detroit have been impacted.
The area is home to a large population of both Jewish and Arab-Americans, so the war happening in the Middle East has hit home for them.
“It’s been very, very difficult. First of all. It’s been very personal," Carolyn Normandin, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of Michigan.
The ADL recently released a report showing there have been more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. since the attacks last year.
“There have been attacks on observant Jews who are covering their heads with a baseball cap to officiate their Yamikas. Incidents have occurred where people feel they have to hide their Jewish identity or connection to Israel," Normandin said.
She added that on Oct. 7, Jewish Americans will be coming together to remember those who have died in the war.
“As the Jewish community knows we’re obligated as Jews to remember our dead so October 7th means we must take an observance, the commitment to remember those lives lost," Normandin said.
Metro Detroit is also home to the largest Arab population in the United States.
“It’s been devastating. It’s absolutely devastating to this community and it seems as if it just gets worse and worse, day by day, week by week, month by month," Nabih Ayad, the founder of the Arab American Civil Rights League, said.
Ayad and his team have spent the year working to get Arab Americans who are stuck in war zones back home to the U.S., many of them being from metro Detroit.
“What you’re seeing now is bombardments now in Lebanon, bombardments in Syria, Yemen and Iran and this continues to go on and the community is completely on edge," Ayad said. "They’re devastated, day in and day out, they’re waiting to get that phone call from their loved ones to find out somebody has either been killed or is in the hospital or lost a limb.”
The ACRL set up a hotline that helps Americans stuck in Gaza connect with attorneys to help speed up their evacuations. They recently set up a hotline for those stuck in Lebanon as well.
“1-877-LebEvac… for those individuals that have loved ones that are stuck in Lebanon, we filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the AACL and others to have the Secretary of State and secretary of defense to do more, do more to secure the safety of these United States citizens," he said.
Looking to the future, both Ayad and Normandin say they hope the war ends soon for the sake of those in the Middle East and here in metro Detroit.
