For New Yorkers, the news that the war in Gaza which sparked division, anger and violence across the city might be close to an end sparked relief and joy — but also concern about what comes next.
Hopeful New Yorkers joined leaders and citizens across the world in praise of a long-awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would end more than a year of bitter bloodshed in the turbulent Middle East.
“It is welcome news that there is an agreement that will free many of the hostages,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement. “A ceasefire is very good news for Israel, for America, for the Palestinian people and particularly for the hostage families who have waited so long in agony.
“A ceasefire will reduce violence in Gaza and harm to innocent civilians. It couldn’t have happened without steadfast diplomacy and until the potency of Hamas was radically reduced.”
Mayor Adams said the agreement was an overdue relief from 15 months of “unfathomable pain.”
“I continue to stand in solidarity with every mother, father and child who has suffered as a result of this conflict,” Adams said in a statement. “Every step forward in peace, every hostage released and every life spared is a victory in this long road to justice and security.”
Few were more hopeful about the agreement than the families of kidnapped hostages.
“We are overjoyed for the families who will soon reunite with their loved ones,” New York City resident Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran was kidnapped when the war started Oct., 7, 2023, said in a statement.
“But the work does not stop here. We must continue to fight tirelessly for the freedom of those still held captive, both in Israel and through advocacy efforts worldwide. Their lives and futures depend on our unwavering commitment to bringing them back safely. The world must not look away until every single hostage is free.”
Lavi pointed out that Miran, who is 47, is not expected to be in the first wave of hostages who are released, which reportedly will include women, children and men over age 50, plus the wounded and sick.
Lavi, a native of Sderot, Israel, is a former captain in the Israel Defense Forces. He now works as a management consultant in New York.
Meanwhile, the New York City chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, which participated in college protests last spring, hailed the news as signaling the possible end to what it condemned as a “US-backed genocide” in Gaza.
“With the announcement of a ceasefire, over 2 million Palestinians have finally received the news that they have so steadfastly been waiting for,” the group said. “Nearly 500 days into Israel’s relentless, US-backed genocide of the Palestinian people, we breathe a sigh of relief that the people of Gaza may sleep peacefully at night without living in constant fear of death. The United States government could have ended this genocide 15 months ago.”
Similarly, Palestinian-American activist Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of Within Our Lifetime, a prominent protest group which got its start at CUNY before expanding citywide, slammed the Israeli offensive against Gaza as genocide and declared, “Gaza has won.”
“Gaza has won, Palestine has won, resistance has won,” she said. “Imperialism and Zionism has lost, the Democratic Party has lost, the future of the Zionist state continues to be eroded. Everyone who participated, aided and abetted this genocide will continue to pay the price.”
Even though there was skepticism in some circles, particularly over the planned pace of the hostage release — which reportedly could see only a few Israeli hostages set free each week and stretch out over three phases — many were happy that this day had finally arrived.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the most senior Jewish member of Congress, gave credit to President Biden for helping achieve the deal.
“We must ensure that all the hostages return home,” Nadler said, “that there is a true cessation of hostilities, that sufficient humanitarian assistance is surged to the people of Gaza, the return of the displaced to their homes in both southern Israel and Gaza, and achievement of long-term stability for all in the region. These are necessary steps in pursuit of a larger lasting peace, achievable only through a negotiated two-state solution.”
Reflecting on Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack — the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust — which sparked the conflict, Nadler said, “The past 15 months have been excruciating for many. As a Zionist and a deeply committed Jew, the events of October 7 and the ensuing war has never been far from my mind. … My prayer is that today’s announcement is a beginning of a new period — one that realizes the vision articulated in the Book of Isaiah, that ‘nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’”
Local Jewish leaders said the joy of the moment outweighs the politics.
“There are two or three layers to this. Politically, people are going to line up differently,” said Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan. “There are some who feel the deal is too conciliatory. On the personal layer, one has to be thankful that we’re going to be getting people back. This will be an incredible joy and relief for them and their families.”
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Manhattan-based Orthodox Union, said in a statement, “We rejoice with the families reunited with their loved ones, and we weep with the many families left waiting.
“We are grateful that the new administration worked with the old to bring the necessary pressure to bear on Hamas. But we are incensed that the world has allowed this to go on for so long.”
Another Manhattan rabbi called the ceasefire a double-edged sword. He requested anonymity because he was speaking personally, not for his congregation. Basically, he said, he fears a disproportionate number of Palestinian prisoners, many of them terrorists, will be released under the deal.
“For every hostage that comes home, immense excitement and exuberance and gratitude to God for their coming home alive and safe,” he said. “On the other hand, how many more October 7s is the deal going to cost?”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) agreed the truce was long overdue.
“We hope that this ceasefire deal brings the Israeli government’s genocidal war in Gaza to a permanent end,” said Nihad Awad, the group’s national executive director, “and sets the stage for the pursuit of a just, lasting peace that ends the broader occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.”
Ali Akbar, the treasurer of Madina Masjid, an East Village mosque, said, “This is nice to see the ceasefire and peace. We’re always in favor of peace.
“Mashallah,” he said — meaning “God has willed it.” “Hopefully, we’re going to be in a good place.”
The war, he said simply, has been “terrible.”
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