DETROIT (WXYZ) — On Monday, an interfaith prayer vigil was held at Detroit's Martin Luther King Jr. Park. It was attended by Jews, Muslims and Christians all praying for much-needed peace as the Israel-Hamas war intensifies.
"When we expect peace on the international shore of Palestine and Israel, we can expect peace in our communities," said Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of Historic King Solomon Baptist Church.
Metro Detroit is home to the largest population of Palestinians and Arab Americans in the country, along with a sizable Jewish community. Imam Mika'il Stewart Saadiq says being empathetic toward each other is one way to achieve peace.
"Make sure that we are not giving labels to people that dehumanize them," said Saadiq, who works with the Michigan Muslim Community Council.
Rabbi Dorit Edut believes the only way forward is to stop the hatred on both sides.
"The situation in Israel and Palestine is horrible. I cannot say that I am at all happy with any of the actions that have been taken. Yes, there is a matter of defending yourself when you're attacked, but I also don't believe that the spread of war is the ultimate way to resolve things," Edut, rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Bay City, said.
Williams says politicians and world leaders also need to step up and work together to de-escalate the situation.
"No more harmless people being hurt. No more aid left off and left away from people who need it. Let's see if we can diplomatically sit down and work this out," Williams said.
Since Oct. 7, over 1,400 Israelis and more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees says as Israeli forces expand ground invasion in Gaza to hunt down Hamas fighters and rescue hostages, the humanitarian crisis is reaching unprecedented levels.
"Gaza is facing catastrophic conditions right now. We are talking about 1.4 million people who've been displaced from their homes. Some 600,000 of those people are in underwater shelters right now, and we have to remind everybody watching that roughly half of 2.2 million people in Gaza are children," said Mara Kronenfeld, the executive director of UNRWA.
Kronenfeld says without a ceasefire, getting the much-needed aid in Gaza will continue to be a challenge.
"We don't know when this is going to stop, and we are fearful that without enough humanitarian aid, getting in without the medicine and the fuel that I am, in addition to civilians being killed by missiles, masses will die from diseases," Kronenfeld said.
Several organizations across metro Detroit are collecting donations for both Israeli and Palestinian civilians impacted by the war. You can learn about the organizations below:
- UNRWA: donate.unrwa.org/
- Zaman International: secure.zamaninternational.org/forms/gazarelief
- Islamic Center of Detroit: icdonline.org/donatenow/
- The Jewish Federation of Detroit: jewishdetroit.org/
- Anti-Defamation League: adl.org/
