I sat down to talk to two Louisiana residents who have personal connections, thoughts, feelings and experiences tied to the war in Gaza.
One Palestinian-American woman living in Lafayette welcomed me into her home and shared her emotions. A Jewish Rabbi living in Baton Rouge and splitting his time teaching between Baton Rouge and Lake Charles came to the KATC station— maps, charts and religious texts in hand— to share how he was feeling.
In our conversations, I asked them each the same questions and allowed the conversation to flow naturally from there with additional questions as needed.
This is the full interview with Rabbi Barry L. Weinstein, the Rabbi Emeritus of the Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge and Rabbi of Temple Sinai in Lake Charles. The only cuts made are in accordance with breaks in filming.
Rabbi Weinstein references events and time frames within his interview. Please note this interview was filmed on Oct. 24.
A brief quote from the response to each question is outlined below, but you can find the full answers in the recorded interview at the top of the story.
How has the war directly affected your day-to-day life?
"So, I am concerned moment to moment. I get up in the middle of the night when I'm not able to sleep because I'm concerned, and I get to my laptop—our laptop—to see the current state of events."
Have you noticed people treating you differently?
"People in our synagogue in Lake Charles, La. are very eager for input from me, as their rabbi, and for my perspective because, as I mentioned, I have family there."
How has the war affected your family?
"Well, my family here is very affected, and many of my family here, in Louisiana, don't like to watch the news because it is so heart-breaking."
Do you have family or friends in Gaza or Israel?
"For security reasons, I can only say they are very close relatives, and they hear the rockets, and they see them. They're in Tel Aviv, which is just miles from Gaza. They see the rockets going over their home from Gaza into Israel. How frightening and devastating that must be."
If so, are your family and friends safe?
"Well, 'safe' is a relative term. No, I don't think they are safe."
What misconceptions do you believe the average Acadiana resident holds about the war?
"I believe the misconceptions are quite a few. I'm a resident of Baton Rouge for half my life now, thank God for 40 years. I just love Louisiana. I love south Louisiana. I certainly love Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles, but I would say that Acadiana folks, from the images on television, are left with the idea that Israel is an aggressor, and Israel is mean and severe..."
What misconceptions do you believe the average Acadiana resident holds about Palestinians?
"I believe the primary misconception that people have about the Palestinians, and I'm not an expert on this part of the situation, but from my own study, I believe the misconception is that Israel doesn't care for them and isn't concerned for them..."
What misconceptions do you believe the average Acadiana resident holds about Israelis?
"Well, I'm not an expert on Acadiana population, but I would say, in general, Americans, generally, are suffering from a media prejudice against Israel, and my opinion, and I'm not a professional politician or a scholar or a professional historian, but I've read lots of essays, and one can go on the Internet and find books about the media prejudice against Israel, the way Israel is represented in the media, and I don't understand this. I don't know why it has to be. I think it's a reflection of Antisemitism."
What do you want to say to the residents of Acadiana?
"I pray for all of us in Louisiana, particularly in Acadiana and in south Louisiana. I pray that each of us will say a prayer this evening before we lay our bed—lay our heads down on our beds at night, giving thanks for America, for Louisiana, for the peace and quietude that we have here."
What is your biggest wish?
"My biggest wish in all of this, Calyn, is for peace and for the cessation of all violence in Gaza, in Israel, in everywhere else in the world."
Please explain how we are all affected by what is happening in the war.
"I can only speak for myself and imagine how everyone else is affected. I believe we are all affected by being reminded of the fragility of life."
Please explain why, if they don't, people should care.
"Well, I believe we all should care because this part of the world, the Middle East—and Israel in particular—is the birth of Judaism, the birth of Christianity, and in the seventh century, the birth of Islam..."
What changes do you want to see?
"My wish is that there would be a more balanced representation of Israel and Israel's policies and its steps that it takes to protect itself."
Please explain how you have been affected mentally and emotionally by this war.
"I have been affected by this war deeply."
How does it make you feel to talk about this?
"It makes me feel very grateful to this television station and other places where I have been interviewed that there's an interest on the part of yourself and your TV station and other places where I have been interviewed to learn more and to speak to someone who is Jewish, who has lived in Israel, studied Israel and can share experiences from a Jewish point-of-view..."
Do you feel you've been misrepresented by the coverage of the war?
"I don't feel any misrepresentation of myself, that I know of, at all."
Is there anything else you want to say?
"I think information about Israel from someone like me who's lived and studied there is really important for our general public to know and better understand what's going on, and I go back to Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel, with my deepest hope for peace and safety in Israel, in Gaza and in the Middle East, as I pray for America, as well."
This is one part of a two-part series, where we also spoke with Palestinian-American Haneen Elwishahi. To watch that full interview or read the quotes of her responses, click here.
