Connecticut residents with ties to Israelis and Palestinians are reacting with guarded optimism as the latest ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears to be holding.
Myra Clark-Siegel, regional director of the American Jewish Committee’s Westchester/Fairfield regional office, said she stayed up to see the release of the remaining living Israeli hostages Monday, abducted by the militant group Hamas during the October 7 attacks in 2023.
“No one slept, and we are certainly in touch with families, both in Connecticut and people who have families and relatives in Israel,” Clark-Siegel said. “We've been in constant touch with them and hope that today is a better day for everybody and for our future together.”
The ceasefire means a potential end to large-scale fighting, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and left much of the strip in ruins according to the Associated Press.
Ahmed Hamdan, a Palestinian American, who lives near Waterbury, has friends with family in the Gaza Strip.
“I am very much ecstatic that the Palestinian people can take one minute to breathe, and I really hope that that translates into a lifetime of breath where they no longer have to worry about bombs and drones and tanks and sniper fire,” Hamdan said.
Residents throughout Connecticut echoed much of Clark-Siegel’s and Hamdan’s perspectives.
Several Jewish Americans expressed relief at the release of the hostages and wished for a peaceful future in Gaza and Israel, even as they are wary of further violence from Hamas.
Palestinian Americans and their advocates in Connecticut, expressed relief. However, they say they’re also concerned about violence, from Israel.
Rallies and protests against the country continue as support for Palestinians has grown, according to them.
Clark-Siegel, other Jewish-American advocates from the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford and United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien all warmly greeted the return of the hostages.
While Clark-Siegel, and others praised the ceasefire, Hamdan says it has not prevented ongoing violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamdan said the ceasefire does not give Palestinians a say in their future.
“The ceasefire is not the end of the story, right,” Hamdan said. “Palestine is still under occupation. It is still under apartheid. Israel is still exercising settler colonialism,” Hamdan said.
As a result, Hamdan, who is also affiliated with the Connecticut Palestine Solidarity Coalition, said protests calling for an end to arms shipments to Israel, will continue.
Hamdan referred to the ongoing weekly protests against Colt Manufacturing in West Hartford.
“Colt is sending thousands of weapons to give to Israeli settlers to enact the same type of violence that we see in Gaza on a day to day basis in the West Bank,” Hamdan said.
Diane Sloyer, CEO of the United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien, said most people in Gaza and Israel want peace.
All Sloyer can do is be optimistic, referring to the name of the national anthem of Israel.
“That word Hatikvah means hope, and if we don't have hope for the future, what else do we have,” Sloyer said.
Sloyer characterized public opinion favoring Palestinians were based on skewed or false information.
“Unfortunately for Israel, they lost the social media war on this one,” Sloyer said.
Palestinian supporters such as Sam Pudlin, who is also a member of the Connecticut Palestine Solidarity Coalition, say the ceasefire also comes as more people in Connecticut are supporting Palestinians, including other Jewish Americans like himself.
“A lot of other congregations have reached out to us and want to talk about this, their members, their congregation, in large part, can no longer tolerate what's happening over in Palestine, and those conversations are difficult, they are slow, but they're happening,” Pudlin said.
One of the congregations having similar conversations is Temple Sinai Stamford. Jeremy Stein, the executive director, said it’s considering hosting a dialogue over the topic.
“We need to be able to have better vehicles for compromise and to be able to understand, to have one side understand the other side, because right now, we're just too divided, not only just as a country, but around the world,” Stein said.
