Growing crisis leaves Canadians with family in Israel feeling ‘helpless,’
Elana Carr has been in contact with her family in Israel every day this week, checking in for updates on their well-being via WhatsApp.
The Toronto woman, who has an aunt and uncle and many cousins living in Israel, is one of many Canadians watching with dread the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“They sent me photos and you can see the rockets. For me, I feel helpless. We all have been worried about the (COVID-19) lockdown. But my family and others who have families in Israel, they are in bomb shelters. I have cousins with little kids. It’s terrible and there’s nothing we can do.
“One of them just sent me a picture of a missile landed right outside of their house.”
Born and raised in Canada to Holocaust survivors from Poland, Carr fundraises here for the United Hatzalah of Israel, which runs a network of 6,000 volunteer medics there.
She said her organization is made up of volunteers from all backgrounds, with members who are Orthodox Jews, Christians and Muslims.
“People have this stigma that Israelis and Arabs can’t get along and there’s no future for peace,” she said. “It’s sad … We can live in harmony. When this happens, it’s hard.”
She said the latest violence has caught many off-guard.
For months, most international media attention focusing on Israel has been about the country’s success in vaccinating its population against COVID-19.
“Our government in Israel can’t seem to get themselves together, so there was a joke in Israel that they were able to solve the vaccine crisis, but couldn’t form a government,” she told the Star on Thursday. “It’s been relatively quiet. I’m surprised and I think Israelis are surprised, too.”
Canadians who have worked to foster friendships and peace between Jews and Palestinians said they, too, are saddened by the heart-wrenching violence in Jerusalem and Gaza, just before Eid al-Fitr, traditionally the happiest occasion of the Muslim calendar.
“We mourn the loss of lives and trust between Jews and Palestinians, both here and in the Middle East,” said Barbara Landau, co-chair of the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims.
“My fear is that much of our goodwill and decades of constructive effort will be undone by political interests that do not serve the majority of Jews or Palestinians.”
Neora Snitz, who moved to Canada from Israel 23 years ago, said she has been in touch with her parents and two siblings back home, but tries to stay away from media reports about the escalating violence in her homeland.
“I talk to my family, but I try to just carry on. But it’s quite overwhelming. I check the news a few times a day, but I’m not glued to it, as a way just to keep breathing and functioning,” said the Vancouver trauma therapist.
“That does impact me strongly. I’m less interested about the specific things, but just how they are doing and what’s happening from their perspectives. I don’t need to see images of suffering in order to connect with suffering. I know what’s happening in this chaos.”
Growing up in Israel, Snitz said she’s familiar with the tension between the two peoples.
“It’s always ready to ignite. All it takes is a spark. I feel people wanted it to be avoided. We need leadership,” she said. “As a therapist, I know people in a state of trauma stay in black and white. They are unable to see humanity in a state of fear and survival. It hurts.”