'I'm cautiously optimistic': Palestinians, Jews in Western Pa. share mixed emotions about peace deal

When Karim Alshurafa heard Thursday’s news of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, he felt conflicted.

Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, which could be the first step toward ending a 2-year-old war that has roiled the Middle East.

Alshurafa, 42, who lives in the North Hills, said he’s been deeply impacted. He said he lost 34 family members in Palestine during the war. He also has friends who survived.

“It’s hard to culminate two years of suffering pain and loss. It’s almost like when you’re just worried about survival, all you cared about is getting through. Once the dust settles, then you get hit with the grief hard,” he said. “My heart goes out to all that had witnessed it and gone through it. The amount of trauma with this loss is significant.”

Still, Alshurafa said Palestinians in Pittsburgh feel a sense of relief that killing can “finally come to an end.”

Members of the local Jewish community shared similar sentiments.

“I was just thrilled,” said Adam Hertzman, 52, of O’Hara.

“All I have is hope,” Hertzman said. “I’m always cautiously optimistic when it comes to the Middle East, and let’s be honest, the Trump administration has … overly promoted accomplishments in the past, so I’m cautiously optimistic, but, of course, it all comes down to the details.”

Alshurafa said he hopes for a future of self-determination for Palestinians and lasting peace.

“We feel that all lives are equal and all should be cherished and all should be treated with respect and humanity and dignity,” Alshurfa said. “There is no one life that is worth more than the other.”

He remains concerned about whether the ceasefire will last this time.

Hope that the worst is over

Hertzman has close family friends living in Jerusalem, and he believes the level of tension and exhaustion there was “extensive.”

He believes it was worse for those living in Gaza.

“I feel terribly for the people who live in Gaza. They’re under this terrorist regime. They weren’t the ones who were responsible for the ongoing war, but they had to deal with it,” Hertzman said. “They’ve been in an active war zone for two years.”

Moving forward, Hertzman, who works as an AI consultant for nonprofits, said he’s hoping for a period of peace in Israel and for the authoritarian government in Palestine to go away.

“The people in Gaza have a right to democratic self-representation,” he said. “There’s been no freedom of speech; it was a terrible authoritarian state.

“I’m not optimistic, because I think Hamas has no interest in letting go of power, but I really hope that that regime ends because whatever replaces it can’t be worse than what they have now.”

Though Hertzman said he supports Israel’s right to exist as a democratic Jewish state, he’s been “completely and totally sick at heart” over the current government’s actions.

“You can hold two thoughts in your head at once: one, that I feel terrible for the Israelis — especially the people who lost their homes to terrorism on Oct. 7, 2023 — and another, that I feel terrible for all of the innocent civilians who were shot, bombed and displaced over the last two years in Gaza,” he said. “Holding those two thoughts in your head isn’t incompatible.”

‘Amputees and orphans’

E. Azzuni believes there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“My first thought was Zionism hasn’t really stopped,” said Azzuni, 33, of Green Tree. “I’m happy that the graphic bombing has stopped, but the quiet part hasn’t … it’s bittersweet.”

His family hails from just north of Gaza and from the West Bank. He said people in Palestine have been brutalized slowly, with everyday life getting worse.

“They can’t go anywhere,” Azzuni said. “What’s still happening is the Zionists have created a lot of child amputees and orphans in Gaza.”

With activity in Gaza quieting down, he assumes terrorism will escalate in the West Bank.

“I hope that I see a Palestine that’s free from oppression, free from colonization, free from fear,” Azzuni said.

And that starts in Western Pennsylvania with not being complicit, he said.

“The problem is not just over there — but here in Pittsburgh. We have Zionists who support this; it’s just sad,” Azzuni said. “I came here to the U.S. for a better life, but I found that the same forces that are making my life harder there in Palestine, they’re making my life harder here in the U.S.”

Holding their breath

Former Israeli soldier Jeremy Kazzaz said amid Thursday’s news, he’s nervous and excited as he hopes for the best. He has friends and family in Israel.

“We are continuing to hold our breath like we have for the last two years,” said Kazzaz, 39, of Squirrel Hill. “I will celebrate when I think that there is a resolution to the point of rewarding celebration. I’m definitely optimistic.”

He’s now executive director of the Beacon Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to combating antisemitism and promoting constitutional democracy and pluralism.

“We’ve been dealing with a gigantic rise in antisemitism in the last two years,” Kazzaz said. “There’s been a lot of threats in the Jewish community … in Pittsburgh.”

Moving forward, he wants to focus on literacy surrounding the way marginalized groups have been targeted “so severely,” especially in Western Pennsylvania.

“I think one of the things that we saw was a certain lack of elected officials to … understand and interpret antisemitism,” Kazzaz said. “I think the more work that is done, the more outcomes that we’ll have explaining to folks what’s presented as hatred to the Jewish people or the allies of the Jewish people.”

Ultimately, he desires lasting peace and stability.

“The best solution is peaceful coexistence,” Kazzaz said.