For weeks, Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza have traded rocket fire and air-strikes, and now, even though there’s currently a cease-fire, relations are still tense. We’ll talk with New Hampshire residents connected to both sides in this conflic and get their thoughts and what they’re hearing from friends and family in the region.
Guests
- Jeff Fladen - Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of NH, which raises money for Jewish needs in America and also in Israel. The Federation, among 155 in North America, works closely w/Israeli government. And during the recent flare-up sent officials from the U.S. to Israel to give first-hand reports. Jeff and Federation leaders get briefings from Israel’s UN Ambassador, as well as U.S. and Israeli military personnel. He has made several trips to Israel and has been in touch w/NH residents who are in Israel right now.
- Salaam Odeh - A Palestinian refugee, raised in Jordan currently living in Manchester. She works as a medical and legal interpreter and translator. . Though her father still lives in Jordan, most of her family lives in the West Bank, where they own olive groves. She says two of her cousins were shot by Israeli soldiers during demonstrations connected with the recent conflict in Gaza and Israel.
- Inbar Karen - An Israeli who is here in Manchester as a “shlicha,” an Israeli emissary from the Jewish Agency of Israel. Her job is to help people in NH to see Israel from the eyes of an Israeli, to connect the Jewish community of NH to Israel. She grew up in Israel, in a tiny village in northern Israel, called Givat Ela. She arrived in Manchester in September and leaves in July.
- Wala’ Maaitah - Palestinian woman studying at Southern New Hampshire University on a Fullbright scholarship. She is pursuing a master’s degree in teaching English as a foreign language. Her family is from East Jerusalem. She plans to pursue a Phd and her real interest lies in studying the effects of war on students and on education. She grew up in an area near an Israeli settlement and has memories of conflicts with the settlers.
