Watching from Afar

After weeks of agonizing over the fate of their ancestral homelands, the Lebanese and Jewish communities in the U.S. breathe a collective sigh of relief as the Middle East cease-fire solidifies.

During the bloody fight between

"They're almost frozen with anxiety, and dread, and fear, and depression," Sherry Weinman, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), said during the fighting.

Elie Najm, chairman of the Council of Lebanese American Organizations (CLAO), said it was family ties that had his group especially on edge. "Every member of the American Lebanese community has relatives in Lebanon. They are very scared for those relatives."

Members of both groups did what they could to help, raising funds, contacting U.S. politicians, and reaching out to each other.

"The Jewish Federation is one of the main fundraisers," said Weinman. The federation "convened the big Jewish rally [in Los Angeles]. A great number of people attended, in our very hot weather, because people wanted to show their solidarity, and be there and be counted."

Jewish Americans attend a rally
to show solidarity with Israel.

The CLAO launched a campaign urging the 3 million Lebanese Americans it represents to contact members of Congress and demand U.S. action in securing a cease-fire. It also urged members to donate money to the Lebanese Red Cross.

As Lebanon's humanitarian situation deteriorated, so did northern Israel's. Families in northern cities like Haifa spent weeks living in bomb shelters. Jewish communities in the U.S. used their fundraising efforts to send supply-filled vans to bomb shelters and purchase mobile cardiac care units for the area.

John Fishel, president of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, said Jewish-American communities felt an overwhelming need to help.

"I think many began to see within the last couple of weeks a real spontaneous outpouring of people wanting to do something," said Fishel. "We, as a communal resource, have been able to harness all of that energy and now begin to direct it in a positive fashion."

Najm says the Lebanese and Jewish American populations did what their respective countries couldn't — they reached out to each other.

During the crisis, he said both the Jewish and Lebanese-American communities made an effort to bring understanding and peace to the region by talking to each other in the U.S.

"As an American first, there is no veto on working with anybody," Najm said. "We are one nation. We are all American citizens. As Lebanese Americans, actually I believe we have more freedom [to] try and work with these groups, Jewish groups that are genuine about peace in the Middle East. And, maybe if it's not going to be done from inside Israel and Lebanon and the Middle East, then maybe the ex-patriots can do it from abroad."

Los Angeles city councilman Dennis Zine, a Lebanese-American with strong ties to the Jewish community in Los Angeles, attended fundraising events held by the AJC in Southern California.
"These are human beings on both sides of the border who are being terrorized, victimized and who are being injured and killed," Zine said.

With a cease-fire now in place, and holding so far, the CLAO and AJC look toward the future with trepidation and hope.

"We pray that it's a permanent cease-fire," said Najm. "But even if it [is] a temporary one, at least it would give those innocents a chance to breath a little bit."

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