St. Louisans welcomed the news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Sunday, despite being wary of any future violence in the region.
Golden Chicken, a Palestinian-owned restaurant in St. Peters, held a community event on Monday to celebrate the cessation of fighting that’s lasted more than 470 days. Many believe the six-week ceasefire in Gaza will end the 15-month war.
On Monday evening, restaurant staff gifted Palestinian stick flags, keffiyeh-printed lanyards and free chicken shawarma sandwiches to patrons. Owner Amjed Abdeljabbar said he planned the event because part of his mission is to make his restaurant a community gathering spot.
“Golden Chicken has always been more than a restaurant. It's a place for the community to come together and moments like this,” he explained. “This event was our way of uniting in hope, advocating for freedom and honoring the sacrifices of those impacted by this ongoing struggle.”
“Our hope is that the ceasefire becomes a starting point for meaningful dialogue,” he added. “We want to see efforts and address the root causes of conflict and prioritize the dignity and safety of all people involved.”
One of the patrons Monday evening was Palestinian Rahaf Hamzeh. She said that she appreciated the community event and that seeing the restaurant decorated in Palestinian flags and symbols made her feel special.
“For Golden Chicken to actually open their doors [to celebrate the ceasefire] is something that’s very good and good for the community,” Hamzeh said. “It's very wholesome, you know, the vibes, the music, the atmosphere, like everyone being here, it’s really special.”
Hamzeh said while the ceasefire is a moment of relief, she’s still thinking about the traumas Gazans face after experiencing yet another war and the escalating tensions in the West Bank.
“Inshallah [God-willing] they will actually go through with the ceasefire and they will stop the killing, but right when the ceasefire happened, we did see houses being burned down in the West Bank,” Hamzeh said. “I think Israelis will keep doing what they’re doing and all we can do is pray and hope to see a free Palestine one day.”
At Congregation B'nai Amoona in Creve Coeur, Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham is still holding space for the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We put the pictures of each of the 252 hostages on the seats in our sanctuary. Our sanctuary seats about 800, and so it made it so that when we come together to pray on Saturday mornings, we were praying with those who were being held hostage,” Abraham said.
“It's very easy to go about your day-to-day life in St. Louis, Missouri, and not think about what's going on in Israel, and so having the pictures there when they come to services is a really great reminder about what's going on and that you know where our prayers should be directed toward.”
For the past 14 years, Abraham has taught a class about current Israeli events on Tuesdays. He said since the ceasefire announcement on Sunday, there’s been “a huge wave of emotions” in the class.
“It's been a lot of really discussing what took place and all the pieces over the last 15 months as the war has played itself out,” he said. “There's been some moments where you're really pleased with what's happening in the war, and then other moments where you know something devastating happens, or you learn of some of the hostages who were killed, and it's been a lot of back and forth in the emotions.”
Abraham said he personally knows people affected by the war, including his brother-in-law who served as a combat engineer in Gaza and Lebanon and feels a sense of relief that there's a pause in fighting right now so he can return to his family.
Abraham noted that some in the right-wing coalition of the Israeli government objected to the ceasefire, mainly because Hamas is still the governing entity in Gaza and because of the Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the Israeli hostages.
“I think those are their two reasons for objecting, and I can understand that. I may not personally agree with them, but I understand where they're coming from,” Abraham said. “My hope is that, you know, ultimately, we're able to get the hostages out and also get Hamas out of power in Gaza.”
