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Oklahomans with ties to Israel-Hamas conflict react to ceasefire

Oklahomans with ties to Israel-Hamas conflict react to ceasefire
Hostage Release
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TULSA, Okla. — The release of the final 20 Israeli hostages marked the end of 737 days of anguish for those with personal connections to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Though for Oklahomans watching from afar, the emotions are complex.

"The last two years have been a feeling of not breathing," said Miriam Belmaker, a longtime University of Tulsa professor who grew up in Israel.

Belmaker, who has taught at TU for 14 years and is deeply involved in Jewish studies and practice on campus, felt the October 7, 2023 attack personally.

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"Not breathing because October 7th," she said. "I know people that were lost, I know people that were kidnapped."

When she heard that the remaining hostages had been released and reunited with their families, Belmaker said reaction she got emotional.

"I cried," she said. "I just cried… I'm thrilled by the release of the hostages. I mean that was a long dream come true and a big sigh of relief and ecstatic."

Despite her joy, Belmaker remains wary of celebrating too early. Her caution stems from the conflict's history of broken ceasefires.

"We've been wrong before," said Belmaker. "There was a cease-fire Oct. 6, 2023. There was a cease-fire. Right now, we're exactly where we were Oct. 6, 2023, only many many more dead and many many more injured and traumatized."

The Palestinian community in Oklahoma echoes those same feelings of cautious optimism.

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Veronica Laizure with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Oklahoma said her community welcomes this first step toward ending the violence, while acknowledging the enormous challenges ahead.

"I think the cautious optimism is the emotion of the day for my community," said Laizure, Executive Director for CAIR. "We are really hopeful that the Palestinian people of Gaza will be able to come back and rebuild and recover, but we are also saying this should not have happened in the first place. This should never happen again to any civilian population."

Beyond the immediate relief of ending the ongoing deadly attacks on civilians, Laizure emphasized the massive rebuilding effort that lies ahead for Palestinian communities.

"Not just the physical rebuilding of homes and shops and hospitals and schools, it's also the emotional rebuilding of our Palestinian friends and neighbors across the world have to rebuild their lives with entire branches of their family being completely obliterated," she said.

The ceasefire agreement also includes the release of approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to President Trump's plan.

Despite representing different sides of a deeply divisive conflict, both Belmaker and Laizure expressed the same ultimate goal for lasting peace for both peoples.


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