As Israel-Hamas war drags on, religious leaders seek peace in face of rising hate crimes

NEW YORK - Long-simmering conflicts and grievances are intensifying as the Israel-Hamas war goes on. The tensions in the Middle East are being felt here in the United States, and are fueling a sharp rise in Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic threats. 

In some instances, authorities say they've led to hate crimes against Jews and Muslims. Now, leaders on both sides are speaking out and urging peace as the only way forward.

Deeply disturbing images of destruction and death from the conflict have dominated the headlines for nearly two months now. It's more intense for Jews and Muslims, for whom the videos and news alerts can trigger their pain, opening up wounds from the past that have never fully healed. 

For the Jewish community, it's the 6 million victims of the Holocaust and the fear that it could happen again.

Rabbi Bob Kaplan, Executive Director of the Center for Shared Society JCRC, said, "It touches a fear, a nerve, a place inside of you that's hard to really wrap your mind around. So the brutality and the inhumane nature of what happened there, well, that really shook us."

For Palestinians, who are mostly Muslim, it's decades of frustration about not having their own nation and the over 16,000 lives lost in the ongoing conflict. 

"There has never ever been an issue, that is so near and dear to Muslims, in my lifetime as the issue of Palestine," said Sheikh Musa Drammeh, Chairman of the Islamic Cultural Center.

Here in the United States, law enforcement agencies say there's been a sharp rise in hate crimes since October 7th. Social media threats against both Jews and Muslims are up by more than 400 percent for each group, according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who is calling on social media companies to do more.

But there are signs of hope. Rabbi Bob Kaplan and Sheikh Musa Drammeh are prominent leaders equally committed to bringing peace to every community. They are friends and have traveled together to Israel to set an example of how Jews and Muslims can co-exist in peace with mutual respect. 

Now they're focusing on bringing Muslim and Jewish students together for open and honest dialogues.

Rabbi Bob Kaplan said, "We have to step back, pull upon that resilience, deal with our trauma, and move our community forward fully understanding that not everything is going to be all right, but we're going to make it through."

Sheikh Musa Drammeh said, "We have to sit down with them, we have to listen to them, and we have to reason with them no matter how wrong, no matter how wrong is the side they support, but we have to find a way where we can sit down and reason with them because the Palestinian issue will not move away from the hearts of the Muslims.'

In the current climate, intense emotions can ignite heated conversations. Communication is key, whether in a group or individual setting, says clinical psychologist and Touro University professor Dr. Jeff Gardere. He shares this advice for us to use in our daily lives:

"Acknowledge what the person is saying, ask them why they feel the way that they do, and then ask for the time to express what you're feeling, but by the end of it, you can agree to agree, or agree to disagree," said Dr. Gardere.

Watch more on this important conversation on the next episode of STREET SOLDIERS, on December 8, at 10:30 p.m. eastern, right after the 10 O'Clock News.