Mideast Violence Shakes Kenosha Community Families
They worry about loved ones living in unstable region

 
BY LIZA BERGER
KENOSHA NEWS

As violence in the Middle East continue to escalate, friends and relatives of Israelis and Palestinians in Kenosha are keeping a close and fearful watch on the region.

Instability in the region is a constant worry for Miriam and Ben Steuerman of Kenosha, whose daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren are living in Gilo, a suburb of Jerusalem. Sniper fire has become a regular occurrence in Gilo, where shooters perch on rooftops from the neighboring Arab Christian village of Beit Jala on the West Bank.

According to MSNBC.com, gun battles erupted between Beit Jala and Gilo as recently as last Sunday.

Miriam said she does not sleep at night because she fears for her family.

``We call our daughter almost every single day,'' said Miriam, a seventh-generation Israeli.

Before the Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli military forces in the occupied territories, began in September, the areas of Gilo and Beit Jala were friendly, the Steuermans said. Their grandchildren had friends from the Arab town who shopped in Gilo.

But since the outbreak of violence, their grandchildren have no contact with their Palestinian friends, and their daughter, who lives in the center of Gilo, does not drive at night. Israelis erected stone walls around Gilo to defend themselves against the attacks.

``They hear the shooting all night long,'' Miriam said. ``Life is very scary.''

The Steuermans believe there are many decent Palestinians, but the Hamas, or militant Islamic arm of the Palestinian movement, is disrupting the peace process.

``Many, many Arabs want to get along with the Jews,'' Ben Steuerman said.

Marwan Wafa, of Racine, also believes there are many decent Jewish people who want peace. But as a Palestinian, he sees the situation from a different point of view.

``When you apply a lot of pressure, at some point in time there will be an explosion,'' he said, adding that he also fears for his family in the Middle East who live in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

``It does impact our emotions and sense of happiness or lack thereof,'' he said.

Wafa, the dean of the School of Business and Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, said his cousin, who lives in Gaza, has been working for no pay because of Israel's hold on funds to the Palestinian National Authority.

Such anger has been building among Palestinians for more than 50 years, since 1948, when some were forced out of the country when Israel became a state.

``This is frustration that has been building up over 50 years,'' he said. ``The Palestinians are willing to die for a cause and no one can stop it.''

Most people want to get along, Wafa said, but politics gets in the way.

``I worry about the whole nation, be it Palestine or Israel, Christian or Jew,'' he said. ``I think from a humanitarian point of view it should not take place.''

In spite of the current situation, the Steurmans believe strongly that the two sides will find an agreement.

``Eventually there'll be peace,'' Ben said. ``It's going to be a matter of give and take.''

Wafa is not so sure.

``The only optimism left with me is there are very moderate, open-minded Jews in this country and in Israel who are angry about the ways things are going,'' he said.