Israel-Hamas War Hits Close to Home in WA

10/18/23 • 26 min

1 Listener

Members of local Jewish and Palestinian communities discuss the war's impacts across the Atlantic.

On Oct. 7, Hamas, a militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel.

Israel quickly declared war – pounding Gaza with airstrikes and restricting the region’s access to water, food and electricity.

Around 1,400 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians have been killed.

For this episode, host Maleeha Syed spoke with Maxima Patashnik, a member of the local Jewish community, and Sabrene Odeh, a member of the local Palestinian-American community, about how the war has affected them.
Read more about the local impact of the war between Israel and Hamas here .

---

Credits

Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Reporter: Mai Hoang

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

---

If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.

Members of local Jewish and Palestinian communities discuss the war's impacts across the Atlantic.

On Oct. 7, Hamas, a militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel.

Israel quickly declared war – pounding Gaza with airstrikes and restricting the region’s access to water, food and electricity.

Around 1,400 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians have been killed.

---

Credits

Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Reporter: Mai Hoang

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

---

Previous Episode

WA Armenians on War and Hope

Azerbaijan’s push for territory has forced thousands to flee. Reporter Taija PerryCook spoke with local communities about erasure and resilience.

Azerbaijan launched an offensive in September to claim land that Armenians have long considered home.

The move has driven about 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the disputed territory, known as both Nagorno-Karabakh and Artsakh, and raised fears of ethnic cleansing.

Over the past year, reporter Taija PerryCook spoke with Armenians in Washington, who watched from afar as tensions heightened.

In this episode of Crosscut Reports, PerryCook and host Maleeha Syed discuss the history of the region and how decades of war and erasure are affecting local Armenian community members. Many describe a need for more awareness of what’s happening — and a confidence that their culture will prevail.

Read our full report on what Armenian communities in Washington have to say here.

---

Credits

Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Reporter: Taija PerryCook

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

---

Next Episode

Who Got WA’s COVID Small Business Money?

The Working Washington program aimed to get pandemic relief to small and “historically disadvantaged” business owners. Did it?

In April 2020, Washington distributed $10 million to businesses navigating the pandemic, the first of many rounds of grant funding delivered by the state.

The Working Washington grant program was established to get money to small businesses overlooked by federal COVID relief efforts, with officials calling on the Department of Commerce to emphasize “historically disadvantaged” and BIPOC businesses.

Crosscut filed records requests for the individual grants, finding large corporate chains among the recipients.

In this episode, host Maleeha Syed speaks with reporter Brandon Block, who recently published a story on these findings, about where the relief dollars went – and if the state made good on its plan to reach small and historically disadvantaged businesses.

Read more about Crosscut's analysis of Working Washington here.

---

Credits

Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Reporter: Brandon Block

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

---