BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's estimated that about 10,000 people of the Jewish faith live here in Western New York and most of them have very strong connections to Israel.
2 On Your Side spoke again with a local resident who still has ties to the Jewish state here and other parts of the country.
Some parking lots of the Jewish Community Center and other local temples and synagogues had a particular presence this weekend with the Jewish holidays and reflecting the attacks in Israel, just as a precaution perhaps but stepped up beyond regular security measures.
Gon Erez, who is originally from Israel but now lives in Western New York, spoke again with WGRZ. We asked him about local security concerns.
"As far as I I know there is no indication of a direct threat against our Jewish institutions, yet we keep our eyes open, and we have armed presence. We will have either visible or invisible security presence," Erez said.
That will also apply to a We Stand with Israel solidarity event at 6 p.m. on Monday at the JCC in Amherst.
The violent scenes emerging from his homeland are terribly difficult for Gon Erez.
"I already learned about a few friends of mine that were killed or are still missing. And no Israeli I believe, there is no Israeli today that does not know in person someone who was killed or kidnapped," Ere said.
Singer Drea D'Nur of Buffalo, who also operates Feed Buffalo, said on social media that she was hoping to catch a flight out of Israel, which has been difficult with the FAA warning airlines of missile attacks. The U.S. Department of State has been trying to assist with evacuations.
Our call to a local Arab American organization was not yet returned. In the mean time there have been rallies in places such as Chicago for the Palestinian people.
One observer identified as Sandy Pappas, a former Minnesota state senator, told NBC News:
"Palestinians kind of lose hope that there's ever going to be an end to the occupation, and so Hamas just takes advantage of that, and a lot of people are going to be killed. A lot of women and children. A lot of civilians are going to get killed in this conflict," Pappas said in a statement.