As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues overseas, Northeast Ohio Jewish and Muslim residents shared their perspectives with Ideastream Public Media on how to bring an end to the war. The land of Israel or Palestine, depending on who you're speaking with, is incredibly important to both Jewish and Muslim peoples.
“The mood of the Jewish community of Cleveland is one of tremendous sadness over what's happened, over how the hostages have been treated, over the way that Israelis have suffered," said Jason Wuliger, chair of Cleveland Jewish Federation's government relations committee. “Since Oct. 7, the Jewish community has really felt under siege because we have witnessed an unbelievable increase in antisemitism, the likes of which many of us have not seen in our lifetimes.”
Hate crimes against Jews in America are up 360% since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Jews consider Israel to be their ancestral homeland and there is extensive historical, archaeological, and genetic evidence that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel, having maintained a continuous presence in the land for over 3,000 years, according to sources such as the American Jewish Committee.
While the Jewish people had been exiled periodically through the centuries, Israel has always been central to Judaism.
Israel's role as the Jewish homeland is a central part of Jewish prayer and ritual as evidenced by the concluding prayer at the Passover Seder, which reads in part, "next year in Jerusalem," and celebrates God’s freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and leading them to the Promised Land of Israel, according to ReformJudaism.org.
Muslims hold the same strong connection to the land, said Faten Odeh, director of Cleveland’s Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"It is Palestinian land because Palestinians have lived on that land continuously for thousands of years, stewarding the land, caring for it, and relying on it," she said. "Our culture is deeply embedded in the land, the rhythms and customs of our culture are in sync with the land, our dance, our food, our embroidery, the names we give our children, are all informed by the land."
"As a Palestinian, I can trace my own family line at least seven generations back who were born in Palestine as Palestinians," Odeh said. "Palestine lives within us and almost every one of us, if not all of us, share the desire to return one day to a peaceful homeland of Palestine."
Dr. Ahmad Jadallah, an Akron physician, said education is key to lasting peace. Also a member of the Akron Palestine Solidarity Collective, Jadallah said he hopes people will learn more about the displacement of Palestinians that took place during the Arab Israeli war in 1948 when Israel was created.
“That's the only way we're going to prevent further death and destruction. We're just trying to teach about the history of the Palestinian people, so people understand ... Wait ... hold on a second, these people have been oppressed. They do have rights," he said.
To do so, Jadallah has asked the Summit County Council to pass a resolution recognizing May 15, 2025 as the 77th anniversary of this displacement, known as the Nakba, or catastrophe in Arabic. "This commemorates the day in 1948 when Israel expelled over 800,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands in Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem and over 500 Palestinian towns and villages," he said in the proposal to the council. "Denying the Nakba is denying the human rights of the Palestinians."
He also provides a Nakba Education and Awareness program in Summit County to teach residents about the event. The program, which is in its second year and will be held in May, features stories of Palestinians who survived the Nakba, lectures by historians who have studied the event, music, poetry and art inspired by it as well. He also provides a reading list to attendees so they can learn more about the event and about the Israeli-Palestinian dispute from the Palestinian perspective.
Jadallah said learning about Palestinians' past suffering will make people less likely to dehumanize and vilify them.
Harriette Watford Lowenthal is African American and Jewish, with years of experience educating students about hate and discrimination while working for the Anti-Defamation League.
“I understand that the land itself is sacred to Jews, it's sacred to Muslims, it's even sacred to Christians when you broaden it," Lowenthal said, adding that many people misunderstand Israel’s history.
"From a Black perspective, I think some of my friends, equating it to apartheid and people taking the land and blaming it on the Jews, it really wasn't the Jews who took the land," she said.
Instead, it was the British government that helped move Jewish refugees back to Israel after the Holocaust, setting the stage for the modern Israeli state, she said. The United Nations also played a role, passing a resolution in late 1947 to divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states.
Despite misunderstandings and the strain of the ongoing conflict, Lowenthal is optimistic about interfaith dialogue given the good relations between Jews, including her organization, the Anti-Defamation League, and Muslims in the past.
For example, after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue outside of Pittsburgh, the first call to the ADL "was from an imam in Pittsburgh asking what he can do and how he could help," she said. "And when we went to attend funerals, you know, they were there. They showed up at the sorrows. They showed up at meetings. And so it breaks my heart to see the divisiveness that continues to happen since Oct. 7."
Jews and Muslims are also a people with much in common, she said.
"We share far more of a background and experience than we want to sometimes remember or give credence to because we're so caught up in what's going on right now."
Faten Odeh, director of Cleveland’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, said she’s concerned about President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza.
Trump proposed removing Palestinians from the land and having the U.S. take control to build real estate there.
“So where were the Palestinians in this conversation when he made a plan for our land? I think it's outrageous. And who would have fun on a resort built on mass graves of innocent children and innocent civilians?”
Odeh said the focus during the ceasefire should be on letting the Palestinian community safely back onto their land to rebuild.
Meanwhile, during the ceasefire, she and other Palestinians do not feel joy or relief, but fear and dread of what may come next for their loved ones, not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, she said.
"It's not a moment of pure happiness and not a moment for our hearts to rest, to be honest with you," Odeh said. "Many of us have families in the West Bank. I know I do and I am often worried about them. I'm asking them to come back to the United States because I'm worried about their safety. At the same time, I know that leaving their home, leaving what is what is home to them is not a solution either."
Puerto Rican native Mariely Luengo, who is Jewish, said building understanding between the two communities is essential.
“The only thing that we have left is to face each other, take responsibility, acknowledge each other's humanity. Talking from the local standpoint of Cleveland and its leadership, it requires a lot of effort, it requires a lot of emotional intelligence. It requires this promise that we must do this work now if we ever want peace and we want resolution.”
To have this understanding, there needs to be ongoing, interfaith discussions, which are happening even now, she said.
Luengo, who serves on the boards of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, routinely meets with local a Jordanian American leader, Omar Kurdi, to foster interfaith dialogue and understanding.
"It fills me with hope that those conversations are happening, and they're very difficult, and they're very painful," Luengo said. "But like always, in every other conflict, the more time that you spend, the more that you realize that you're the same people with the same values, with the same families, with extraordinarily similar culture and mannerisms. I'm very happy that they're happening.”
Omar Kurdi, who is Jordanian American, said he does not trust the current leaders on either side to broker a deal.
“Netanyahu is a genocidal maniac. It's pretty clear. I don't think he's a man of peace. On the Palestinian side, Abbas of the PLO has been there for God knows how long," Kurdi said. "Palestinians need and deserve better leadership. And honestly, the only Palestinian leader who I think is able to unite the Palestinians is Marwan Barghouti. He's an Israeli prisoner.”
Barghouti is considered the leader of the Palestinian uprising. He was sentenced in 2004 to five life sentences for his role in orchestrating attacks that killed Israelis. However, his supporters argue he champions a political resolution to the conflict.
Something needs to change to get the Palestinian people the leadership they need for the outcomes they truly desire, Kurdi said.
"They want to live their lives in peace," Kurdi said. "They want to rebuild their homes. They want to self-govern. They want self-determination. They don't want to live in fear that an airstrike is going to come and destroy their building and kill their children and mothers and innocent civilians."
In the meantime, the Palestinian people have a long road ahead, he said.
"There's a lot of uncertainty with the rebuilding," Kurdi said. "I don't think we've seen the worst of it yet, like the health crisis. Most hospitals are not functioning. There are no schools left. A lot of the homes are destroyed. At least 80 % of Gaza's infrastructure is destroyed."
Jews in Cleveland are also navigating hate and division in the local community, including at Cleveland City Council and Cuyahoga County Council meetings, the Jewish Federation's Wuliger said,
"Comments that used to be considered totally out of bounds now get made on a regular basis," he said. "The level of security that our community requires just to go to synagogue or to get together as a community is unbelievable. And it's something that needs to change."
Despite this, the local Jewish community is committed to Cleveland, he said.
"The Jewish community of Cleveland has been a part of Cleveland since the 1800s and we love this city," Wuliger said. "We're not going to let any amount of hate push us away from our home."
The local Jewish community also remains committed to interfaith relationships, he said.
"The Jewish community has never stopped reaching out to all of the various other faiths in Northeast Ohio and beyond," Wuliger said. "We are thrilled to find partnerships with people who believe in a peaceful future for all humanity. We're all neighbors here in Northeast Ohio."
In the end, the path to peace comes through the end of hate, Wuliger said.
"In order for there to be peace, there has to be a future where Gaza is not run by a terrorist organization." he said. "When the Palestinian people can have a bright future under a government that cares more about them than attacking their neighbor, and the Israeli people can live in peace and security and not have to worry about terrorists storming their borders. That's the quickest way to a peaceful future."
