‘I can’t believe this is happening’

There is no way to sleep. Yaser Abudagga has not been able to work.

Since violence between Israel and Hamas has intensified in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian-born University of Iowa graduate said he spends all his time worrying, reading media reports and trying to contact his brother, sisters and extended family and friends still living in the conflict-prone region where he grew up.

When Abudagga does reach them, the news often is terrifying - if not devastating. Early Thursday, Abudagga learned that five of his cousins had been killed overnight when a bomb hit the house they were in.

Last week, Abudagga lost three cousins who were riding in a targeted taxi. 'I can't believe this is happening,” he said. 'Nowhere is safe.”

Abudagga, 44, who moved from Gaza to the United States in 1991, earned a master's degree from the UI, works at ACT and lives in Coralville, where he's been spending most of his time lately tracking the situation in the Middle East. Every phone call and every update brings with it the terrifying possibility that one or more of his siblings has been injured - or worse.

'It's nerve-racking to think about what is going to happen,” Abudagga said. 'It's really hard to talk to them. I cannot continue talking to them knowing this could be the last time.”

Abudagga was among a crowd of protesters - representing groups such as People for Justice in Palestine and Peace Iowa - who gathered Thursday on the UI Pentacrest calling for peace and U.S. action. Holding signs with pleas such as 'Stop bombing Palestinian children” and 'Free Gaza,” protesters demanded the United States halt its support of Israel.

But Nicholas Grossman, a UI lecturer in the political science department, said the conflict is not so cut and dried. Discussion about who is right and who is wrong and who is more to blame and who is the victim is useless, Grossman said.

'It doesn't really matter,” he said. 'The situation itself - with Gaza under embargo and the West Bank being occupied by Israel and Hamas in control and hostile - is unsustainable.”

Abudagga said he wants a lasting solution for the region, and he thinks the United States should help broker that. Grossman agreed that diplomacy is the way forward.

'The best thing the United States can do is continue using diplomacy to encourage a cease-fire,” Grossman said. 'The chance of this conflict ending with one side winning with a lasting victory is extremely small.”

Haley Zimmerman said she, too, is hoping for a peaceful resolution, but she has a different view. The 21-year-old UI senior and her twin sister Hanah spent time at age 17 training as soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force.

The experience was part of a larger summer-long program available to Jewish teenagers living outside Israel. During their almost three weeks with the military, Zimmerman said, they were trained in Israeli tactics, weaponry and physical fitness.

They had to hand over their civilian belongings and were given uniforms, sleeping bags and a canteen, Zimmerman said. They lived in barracks, spent time at the shooting range and did patrols.

Zimmerman said she was labeled a troublemaker for laughing on the first day and spent nights running laps and doing chores.

The message to soldiers is that Israel is acting in self-defense, Zimmerman said. But she perceives atrocities occurring on both sides of the conflict.

'I want peace to happen - I have a lot of Palestinian friends,” she said. 'But I think peace is impossible. I think the U.S. might have to step in.”

About a month ago, Abudagga's parents came to visit. The current conflict began escalating after their arrival, and Abudagga said they are scrambling to get home to be with their other son and four daughters - all of whom live in Gaza.

'They want to go back - it's their home,” Abudagga said. 'They are dying because of what is happening over there. They are dying worrying about their kids and their family. They are dying because of the neighbors we just lost and the family they just lost.”

But Abudagga is arguing to keep his parents here.

'It's a terrible situation for everyone,” he said. 'I understand they are worried, but they can't help being there. They're just going to be more targets. I want them to stay.”

All the houses near his brother's home have been hit by Israeli strikes, and Abudagga said his siblings have had to move at least three times based on intelligence of targeted neighborhoods.

'But everywhere is not safe,” Abudagga said. 'The Gaza Strip is not a big place.”