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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ISRAEL-GAZA-SUFFERING-ABROAD
HEADLINE: Terror of Israel-Hamas War Resonates With US Families
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 11/26/2023 at 9:30am
BYLINE: Aron Ranen
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: New York City
VIDEOGRAPHER: Aron Ranen
PRODUCER:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Tsikhanenka
SCRIPT EDITORS: Tsikhanenka, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA
PLATFORMS: WEB__TV_X__RADIO_X_
TRT: 2:47
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TV
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO))
[[As casualties mount from fighting between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. relatives of those affected by the violence are grieving the loss of friends and loved ones. In New York, Aron Ranen talks with people who have family ties to the conflict.]]
((NARRATOR))
((NAT SOUND HAMAS OCT 7 ATTACK))
Among the 240 people Hamas took hostage on October 7 was Omer Neutra, a U.S. citizen who had been serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
His devastated parents, Orna and Ronen Neutra of Long Island, New York, are grappling with the situation.
((MANDATORY COURTESY: NEUTRA FAMILY))
((Orna Neutra, New York Resident))((female, in ENGLISH))
"This, this is unimaginable, right? And this has become our reality. This month feels like three months, and then again, it feels like yesterday."
((Ronen Neutra, New York Resident))((male, in ENGLISH))
"The uncertainty that we live in and the 240 other families live is simply unbearable”.
((NARRATOR))
The Neutras are hoping that President Joe Biden, who spoke to them via Zoom, can secure the return of their son.
((Radio intro: Ronen Neutra))
((Ronen Neutra, New York Resident)) ((male, in ENGLISH))
“Originally, we were told that he's going to give us 10 to 15 minutes. He spent over an hour with us and really expressed his full commitment and his administration’s full commitment to bring this issue to a resolution, and as he said, it's his top priority.”
((NARRATOR))
Others in the New York area are also facing hardship. Sami Shaban, a Palestinian American attorney and businessman living in New Jersey, says many of his family members have been killed in the Israeli shelling of Gaza in recent weeks.
((Sami Shaban, New Jersey Resident)) ((male in ENGLISH))
“So this is my uncle Muhammad, who died. This is his wife, this is his whole family, this my cousin Abdullah Muhammad. Everyone in this picture is now dead. So I've lost 17 members in total.”
((NARRATOR))
Shaban believes that this conflict could persist for years.
((Sami Shaban, New Jersey Resident)) ((male in ENGLISH))
“Death all around them. There's destruction, and it's impossible to make sense of it. What's happening today is only going to be something that we will feel for 10, 20, 30 years.”
((NARRATOR))
Lisa Schirch, a professor of peace studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, sees potential for a political solution to the decades-long conflict.
((Lisa Schirch, University of Notre Dame)) ((female in ENGLISH))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: ZOOM))
“It's in Israel's interest to make sure that out of this crisis and horrible period, we turn a corner, we have a new paradigm for relationship with Israel and Palestine, and that we don't let a generation of children in Gaza grow up with anger. That rage turned into the nightmare of October 7 with the war crimes that cannot be justified by any excuse of rage. A win-win for everyone is a political solution that brings real security and real safety to Israelis and Palestinians.”
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, their loved ones in the United States watch the news and wait.
((Aron Ranen, VOA News, New York City))
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