For nearly a century, Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting for control over the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Fleeting cycles of civility have been punctuated by violent revolts, acts of terrorism and, periodically, all-out war.
According to the Associated Press, the spasm of violence that began on October 7, 2023, has now claimed more than 40,000 Palestinian lives. That’s more than half of the long-standing conflict’s total estimated casualties.
Last fall – as the death, suffering and destruction in Gaza mounted – local residents described the numbing effect of prolonged grief and how Israel’s response to October 7 had led them to rethink their support for the state of Israel.
With speakers granted anonymity to express themselves freely, here’s Chapter 7 of Fallout: Where is the Limit?
This series is produced and edited by University of Illinois journalism professor Charles “Stretch” Ledford. University of Illinois journalism students Liv Barwinska, Eli Hong, Elizabeth Kelly and Faith Lee conducted interviews at the Central Illinois Mosque, the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, Illini Hillel and at pro-Palestine rallies on the Urbana campus.