JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hearing and seeing the atrocities happening in Israel, there is concern for the mental health of everyone living through these events.
Some people in Israel have seen the vigils and conversations happening in the United States, which lets them know they are not alone.
It’s been three days since one mother last saw her children who were taken while they were in bed. Mariam Fiest, CEO of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida, shared the video of the woman’s plea to get her children back.
“Yesterday morning as my two kids were sleeping in their beds, they were taken out of their beds by terrorists who broke into my house,” the woman said. “All I could hear was him begging for them not to take him because he’s too young. I’m begging you, all mothers, of all places in the world, help me find my sons and return them home. They are just kids.”
Still no words on the woman’s children.
“This is acts of terrorism,” Feist said.
Feist said there’s no one they’ve spoken to in Israel who doesn’t know someone being held hostage, murdered, injured or has been called to serve.
“Terrorists coming on the streets, into neighborhoods. This is something none of us can believe that we’re witnessing in our lifetime,” Feist said.
As of Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces reported an unknown number of women, children, toddlers, and the elderly were found brutally butchered by Hamas militants.
“They are terrorists. They are cruel. They have no morals,” the mother in Israel said in the video.
Palestinian Ranna Abduljawad talked about the video of the mother calling Hamas terrorists.
“Them, because they say they’re terrorists because they’re fighting back, then we have to call the resistant group in Ukraine terrorist… then we have to call every group that supported US and Israel terrorist,” Abduljawad said when asked why the Hamas are referred as terrorists.
Abduljawad said the same sympathy one feels for this woman and her children should be felt for the women and children in the same position at the hands of Israel.
“That’s absolutely a sad situation that we have to see innocent life go through that but let me tell you, like any other Palestinian will tell you, Palestinians say that on a daily,” Abduljawad said.
Feist said what we see is not a fight for land or country.
“Taking the narrative to turn this into anything other than it is. And I keep saying this over and over again, this is unequivocally a terrorist attack. There is not anyone here, anyone living anywhere in freedom and wanting freedom, to say they support terrorists,” Feist said.
However, there is trauma on both sides.
“Please, please help me find them and return them home as soon as possible. It’s not their war, and even war has rules. Thank you,” the mother said.
Palestinian activists ask that people take time to educate themselves and raise awareness of what’s truly happening in Palestine.