CATALINA FOOTHILLS, Ariz. (KGUN) — A phone buzzes on Jennifer Lowenstein's coffee table. She keeps close to her phone because she's working diligently to keep in contact with her friends in Israel and Palestine.
"I met two of my closest friends in there in Gaza," she said. I'm in touch with them every day. What they are experiencing is hell."
Her friends are sending their diary entries every day to Lowenstein. Lowenstein has been to Gaza more times than she can count, she said. She lived in Israel as a kid and went back to visit in the 1980s while attending college.
"I started having problems with what I was seeing in society right away," she said. "You leave Gaza city and you go to Jerusalem, and it's like two different planets."
She decided to dedicate her life to the crisis overseas.
"I started going to Beruit to work in refugee camps — Palestinian refugee camps," she said. "In 2002, I moved to Gaza and worked in a human rights organization."
She said for years, she watched Israel blockade Palestine. On October 7th, Hamas fought back with an attack on Israel.
"It's a government that I don't like," she said. "The military aspect of this operation is a way of saying, we are not willing to live in the Gaza strip under occupation."
It's been almost a month since that attack, where she feels pro-Palestinian voices have been silenced.
"I'm tired of the censorship and dehumanization, this notion that if you're Palestinian, you're a terrorist," she said.
She hopes more people will be educated about the situation as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise with no end in sight.
"We're talking about the fourth most powerful military state in the world — Israel, fighting against a strip of land," she said. "That have no army, no air force no standing navy 15-30 thousand men max."
Israel - Palestine Crisis in the news:
- House passes $14B Israel military aid, excludes humanitarian funding
- Blinken urges aid for civilians in Gaza as Israel vows to continue war
- Families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas demand solutions
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
