Israel Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

West Virginians Respond To Escalation In Israeli-Hamas Conflict

The Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East has the attention of many West Virginians who have religious, familial, or ethnic ties to the region.

At least 1,200 Israelis have died, and Palestinian authorities say 1,055 Palestinians have died in the recent escalation of the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

The Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East has the attention of many West Virginians who have religious, familial, or ethnic ties to the region.

At least 1,200 Israelis have died, and Palestinian authorities say 1,055 Palestinians have died in the recent escalation of the ongoing conflict.

Spiritual leader of the B’nai Jacob Synagogue in Charleston Rabbi Victor Urecki held a service for reflection and memorial. He said he’s been talking to his family members in Israel – including one family member who is a part of the Israeli military – and others who live in Jerusalem.

“We’ve checked in on them,” Urecki said. “They’ve heard sirens and they’ve heard bombing in the background. But at least for now they feel relatively safe.”

He said as the death toll rises it gets harder and harder to process.

“Many of us are shell-shocked,” Urecki said. “We’re traumatized. We have many that have friends and family who live there.”

Urecki said there is a feeling of helplessness he and others feel living so far from the conflict.

Dr. Shadi Abo-Halima’s is a heart surgeon here in West Virginia. His family is from Palestine, but he said they moved many times moving away from Israeli expansion. Now his family lives in Jordan and the U.S.

Abo-Halima said that he is heartbroken for the loss of lives and frustrated that it has come to this point. He said there are many trigger points that the international community has ignored, and that the Palestinian people have been living under oppression.

“Unfortunately, war is war. Casualty happens for soldiers, or for militia, people understand that’s what they sign up for,” Abo-Halima said. “But when it comes to civilians it’s sad, it all just crushed my heart. And just completely unacceptable. But the problem that we’re having now is people always look at the situation that is happening now. They didn’t look at what caused all this.”

He said lasting peace involves Palestinians being treated humanely and with dignity.

“The Palestinians really want to live in peace.” Abo-Halima said.

June 4, 1971: Glenn Elmo Riggs Hijacks Plane At Kanawha Airport

On June 4, 1971, West Virginia’s only documented plane hijacking occurred in Charleston. Glenn Elmo Riggs, a 58-year-old retired coal miner from Boone County, hijacked a United Airlines flight that had stopped over at Kanawha Airport—now known as Yeager Airport.

He boarded the flight with a .32-caliber pistol and a box of bullets. Shortly after takeoff, he hijacked the 737 and demanded that the pilots fly him to Israel so he could help build a new temple.

When the plane landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, Riggs released the passengers and the flight attendant but continued to hold the pilots and flight engineer at gunpoint for hours while waiting on a DC-8 to take him to Israel.

The flight engineer eventually grabbed Riggs’s .32 when the hijacker went to get some water. The police soon charged the plane and arrested Riggs.

After being taken into custody, Riggs told reporters, “I don’t even know how I got on the plane,” and “you know about as much as I do.” He was convicted of air piracy and sentenced to two 20-year sentences in prison.

Gaza and West Virginia Have More in Common Than You May Think

A deep love of their homeplace, resourcefulness, and deep faith – West Virginians and people in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel share a lot.

Front Porch contributor Rick Wilson just returned from a visit to Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, and he says he’s struck by both the obvious differences and the similarities in culture.

“In West Virginia, we have space. We have green…We have this love of the open road,” Wilson said. “For a lot of people there, it’s borders and checkpoints. That feeling of being confined, it really struck me.”

The population of Gaza and West Virginia is roughly the same – 1.8 million people. But in Gaza, they live in just 140 sq. miles, compared to 24,000 sq. miles in West Virginia.

But hillbillies and Palestinians share one trait, Wilson said.

“A big word for Palestinians is ‘Steadfastness’ — this effort to try to hold onto the land and try not to be displaced.”

Wilson says Israelis are rightfully afraid for their security and there is no easy path to peace. He says it starts with more personal connections between people on both sides of the fence.

Rick literally extends the olive branch to Laurie.

Read more from Rick’s blog, The Goat Rope, here: http://goatrope.blogspot.com/

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

Manchin: Israel and Palastine Need to Find "Pathway to Peace"

Senator Joe Manchin is wrapping up a six day tour of Israel and the West Bank, meeting with political and spiritual leaders along the way.

On a conference call with reporters Friday, Manchin called his trip both spiritual and educational.

The Senator met with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah separately to talk about finding a “pathway to peace” for both countries.

“But I don’t see a pathway to negotiations that can lead to peace unless the Palestinians openly, to the free press and in their native language, are able to acknowledge that the Israelis, the native people of Israel, have a right to their own state,” he said.

Manchin said the U.S. has long served as a facilitator of conversations between the two nations and should continue to fill that role. He called the relationship between the two countries important because of Israel’s “strategic” location in the Middle East.

The trip was paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, a Washington, D.C., based nonprofit that works to educate students and politicians about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. The non-profit is affiliated with the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major pro-Israel lobbying group.

Manchin Visits Israel, Meets With Officials

Senator Joe Manchin is visiting Israel this week to meet with senior government officials and business and energy leaders.

Manchin’s office said Tuesday that the West Virginia Democrat will also tour holy sites during the trip.

Rabbi Victor Urecki accompanied Manchin on the trip. Urecki has served as rabbi at B’nai Jacob Synagogue in Charleston since 1986.

Israeli Consul General visits W.Va. to expand cultural and economic ties

An Israeli General Consul is in West Virginia this week visiting lawmakers as well as both Jewish and Christian groups.

Sideman met with members of a Morgantown synagogue yesterday who were not happy with his participation in an event featuring a prominent evangelical Christian politician.

Cultural Ties?

Sideman explained that part of his job is to expand cultural ties between Israel and the US by meeting with community members and encouraging events that promote Israel. To that end he also participate in an event hosted by Christians United for Israel. The keynote speaker at the event was Gary Bauer, one-time presidential candidate and the head of the nonprofit organization American Values . Many members of the Jewish community, however, took issue with the event, telling Sideman the values represented were those of the Christian extreme right.

“Aligning yourself with people like this is the best way to lose the American middle,” warned Jim Friedburg.

Sideman reiterated that the event’s purpose was solely to support the state of Israel. “If it’s anything different than support of Israel, then I will be the first to make public note of that,” he said.

Sideman says his remarks at the Christian event were largely to celebrate the securing of a Jewish homeland:

“I’ll be talking about the state of Israel, about the significance of Israel’s existence, about its achievements, about some of its challenges, about the historical moment in time that we are at that 65 years ago we have reestablished our sovereignty over our ancestral homeland where we were born as a people 4,000 years ago. And we reestablished ourselves in the land that we’ve been dreaming of for 2,000 years. So it’s a historical, unique moment in time that we should all relish and do everything that we can to sustain it for another 2,000 years.”

Economic Ties?

Sideman says even more than promoting cultural ties in West Virginia, his goal is to expand economic ties.

“This is the first of, I have a feeling many such visits to West Virginia. There are many economic opportunities that I would like to explore between Israel and West Virginia in areas such as energy, biotechnology, chemicals. The chemical industry is very strong in Israel and West Virginia. And I Think there are many opportunities I would like to see if I can promote mutual business between Israel and WV, more so than there is today.”

Sideman’s West Virginia visit continues in Charleston where he’ll be meeting with members of the Jewish community as well as legislative leaders in both the House and Senate.