MACON, Ga. — The death toll in Israel and Gaza has reached over 1,500 after the militant group Hamas attacked Israel, including a number of civilian targets like an EDM festival where at 260 people were killed.
Temple Beth Israel Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar says the actions of the Hamas military are horrific.
"You know my family like everyone else's in Israel is in shock. As to the devastation that Hamas has committed to human rights, [it is a] catastrophe," Bahar said.
Bahar says her first thoughts after hearing about the attacks that took place over the weekend were about her family and friends.
"My first thought was my family," Bahar said. "I have family that live in Israel, I have friends that live in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem."
Bahar says a family member lost their loved one in the attack. She says what the Hamas military group is doing is wrong.
Christopher Lawrence is the chairman of the political science department at Middle Georgia State University. He says what's going on in the Middle East affects a lot of people here.
"A lot of people in general that have friends or family or whatever in Israel are going to be very concerned about their loved ones. And of course, that's also true of people who have Palestinian relatives as well. The tragedy here is going to be viewed by civilians on both sides," Lawrence said.
Lawrence says the conflict in the Middle East would begin during the biblical era. In terms of modern times, it dates back to the late 1940s.
"I would say the 1947 Israeli Independence and Partition are kind of the critical point there," Lawrence said.
Lawrence says he has friends and family who are Jewish that are in Israel.
He says the Jewish community here in Central Georgia is feeling the wrath of Hamas' attack.
"It definitely brings up a lot of bad memories for people from the Holocaust and things like that," Lawrence said.
Bahar says people should put their opinions aside and research the complex relationships in the Middle East. She says in the end Israelis and Palestine have some things in common.
"Both the Israelis and the Palestinians want to be accepted by the world community. Both of whom deserve human rights, both of whom deserve respect, and both of whom deserve autonomy," Bahar said.
Here are some articles to help you learn more about the history between Israel and Palestine:
2. BBC