'Our family's homes were bombarded:' Minnesotan worries for loved ones in Gaza

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: This morning, Governor Tim Walz ordered flags to fly at half staff through Saturday around the state in honor of victims of Hamas's attacks on Israel. Israel's army today bombed neighborhoods across Gaza, where the borders are closed, and Hamas is still holding hostages who were abducted over the weekend. The death toll among Israelis and Palestinians continues to climb as civilians bear the brunt of what has become, over just a few days, a devastating war.

Minnesotans with loved ones on either side of the conflict are scrambling for information. Our next guest is following what's happening in Gaza, where he has family. Taher Herzallah is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and director of grassroots Organizing for American Muslims for Palestine. He is on the line. Taher, thanks for joining us.

TAHER HERZALLAH: Thank you for having me, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Where are your members in Gaza? Where are your family members in Gaza?

TAHER HERZALLAH: Our family is situated in a neighborhood in Gaza City called Rimal. I'm hesitant to say exactly where they are out of fear of Israeli reprisal and bombardment of their neighborhood. But at this point, Rimal has been completely erased by Israeli bombs. And so we are in a very difficult situation.

CATHY WURZER: How many family members do you have in that area?

TAHER HERZALLAH: My entire dad's side of the family-- his aunts, cousins, extended family members-- all live in Gaza City and have been there for generations.

CATHY WURZER: Have you heard from them? When was the last time you heard from them?

TAHER HERZALLAH: After about 24 hours of just no notice or communication being dark, I just received information this morning that two of our family members' homes were bombarded through an Israeli airstrike on their homes in the past two days. Thankfully, they were not at home when this took place. But those homes are completely destroyed, and now they are displaced.

CATHY WURZER: Hmm. Where can they go?

TAHER HERZALLAH: People are just jumping from home to home in Gaza. I've heard stories of families, and my family as well, where they're jumping from one relative's home to another. Then the Israelis strike another home. And so they have to move to another place.

And they're just running out of places. There is no safe haven, Cathy. There is no safe place in Gaza where you can be. And so people are just now, at this point, staying put where they are, and whatever happens happens because there is no safe haven at this point.

CATHY WURZER: Do they have electricity, food, medicine?

TAHER HERZALLAH: This has been the big problem in Gaza. I was talking to a friend this morning who's family is in Gaza. And he said that the last time they had electricity was yesterday, and they had it for about two hours for the entire day. They charged their phones, and that's it. And they believe that electricity will not come back on in Gaza after that.

The power generators are running out of fuel. And Israel has denied access to fuel. And so now people will be completely out of power. And this is catastrophic, not just for their cell phones but for people who are on dialysis who need dialysis machines running, people who need ventilators. Medical staff and hospitals who are already short on supplies and equipment are now having to deal with treating the triage, and traumatic injury, and people being shot, and bombed with no electricity. And it's just a catastrophic situation beyond description.

CATHY WURZER: How are you doing through all of this?

TAHER HERZALLAH: It's devastating, Cathy. I'm dreadfully waiting for that moment when I get the message saying (VOICE BREAKING) that they've been hit. It's devastating, Cathy. I wish it upon no one.

CATHY WURZER: You lead organizing efforts for Palestinian rights in the United States. Tell me about that work and its importance to you.

TAHER HERZALLAH: We've been working to change US policy on this issue for decades as a community, as a Palestinian-American community and Muslim-American community, who is so passionate about this cause. We've been working to convince politicians that giving more weapons to Israel is not going to solve the problem but only adding fuel to the fire.

We have American politicians today, Cathy, Lindsey Graham-- I just heard him earlier on Fox News-- openly calling for genocide and erasure of Gaza. Is this the language that Americans should be using in their description of what is taking place in Gaza? This is absolutely devastating to have an American Government giving the green light to the Israelis to engage in this genocidal rampage against the people of Gaza.

And if they think that more violence on Gaza, more destruction of Gaza, more murder of Palestinian babies is going to bring Israel security, then the events of the past four days should prove them wrong that no more siege, and no more violence, no more suffocation is going to bring security and peace to the Israelis. In fact, it will bring the opposite.

CATHY WURZER: What about Hamas and Hamas's tactics? How do other Palestinians look at Hamas?

TAHER HERZALLAH: I think that, considering the context of the siege on Gaza for the past 16 years, considering Palestinians have been displaced and dispossessed from their homelands for now more than two generations, any act of resistance to Palestinians is seen within that broader context and understood within that broader context. And decolonization and the decolonial efforts as we've seen around the world, whether it's the Algerians fighting the French, or the South Africans fighting the Afrikaners, or the independence movements in Rhodesia, any independence movement, any decolonial movement is going to resort to these tactics.

And it's very brutal. It's terrifying. It's discomforting. But that's the reality.

And any occupying power has-- the onus is on the occupying power to ensure that they are treating people with respect and fairness. Otherwise, I fear that this will perpetuate further violence in the future.

CATHY WURZER: You mentioned working to change the narrative when it comes to this conflict and the roles on either side among American politicians. That's an uphill climb. My lead to this conversation of ours says that Governor Walz has ordered flags to fly at half staff to honor the victims of Hamas's attacks on Israel. How do you change politicians' minds on this?

TAHER HERZALLAH: It is an uphill battle. Not only are we dealing with a very powerful pro-Israel lobby in the United States. We're also dealing with decades and decades of dehumanization and demonization of Palestinian Arabs and Muslims. We've been painted to the world as bloodthirsty animals who just want the murder of Jews.

And that could not be further from the truth. People want freedom. People want to live freely and in liberty. And that is exactly the situation that we're dealing with today. And so when engaging with government officials, we're having to fight a battle on multiple fronts, the battle of policy and advocating to change policy but, at the same, time changing the perceptions and conceptions of Palestinians, and Arabs, and Muslims in the minds of people who have been fed so much misinformation over the past several decades and year.

CATHY WURZER: The Biden administration is saying it's talking with Israel and Egypt about creating safe corridors for civilians in Gaza. What are people in the community saying about that?

TAHER HERZALLAH: People are apprehensive. They're cautious to believe that there is any safe corridor. Number one, there are many complicated geopolitical matters at play here. Egyptians are getting involved.

But also the main thing is that people don't have any trust in the Biden administration in our community to look out for our community. Where was the Biden administration when Israelis murdered Palestinian-American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh? They did nothing except try to hide and cover up that story. Where was the Biden administration when other Palestinian Americans have been killed over the past several years in Israel by Israeli soldiers in broad daylight on live TV?

There has been no accountability. And now I find it laughable, really, that the Biden administration is so concerned with Americans in the region all of a sudden when it's not Palestinians that are being killed, when it's not Palestinians that are being murdered. And so it's frustrating, Cathy. It's frustrating to hear anything coming out of the Biden administration in light of what's been taking place over the past several years.

CATHY WURZER: So a lot of mistrust there. A final question here, Taher, is, for people who want to learn more about the Palestinian perspective, what would you tell them to do?

TAHER HERZALLAH: I would tell them to read and listen to Palestinians. There are Palestinians all over the world discussing and talking about the suffering and what's taking place right now. We have nothing to hide. We want the world to see exactly what is taking place.

And we know for a fact that when people see what is taking place and the reality of Palestinian suffering, they will feel compassion towards the Palestinian people. Please read. Please continue to engage in finding information about what's taking place in Gaza.

Learn about the siege. Learn about the suffocating siege that's been taking place for 16 years, that has pushed people to the brink that has led to astronomical rates of suicide in Gaza, that has led to malnourishment of children wholesale. This is an active and live genocide that we are witnessing in real time. And I hope that people understand it that way and see the reality for what it is.

CATHY WURZER: Taher, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

TAHER HERZALLAH: Thank you for having me, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Taher Herzallah is director of grassroots Organizing for American Muslims for Palestine and a graduate student at the U of M. His father's side of the family is in Gaza. And of course, we're covering the impact of the war on Minnesotans with connections to Gaza and Israel.

Our reporter Matt Sepic has a story about a solidarity gathering in the Jewish community in Saint Louis Park last night. That was standing room only. You can find that story and all of our coverage at mprnews.org.