Israel-Hamas war: Jewish, Muslim communities in Hong Kong hold separate prayer sessions, seek ways to help

On October 7, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise offensive, with hundreds of gunmen attacking communities near the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,300 Israeli civilians and taking more than 100 hostages.

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Israel retaliated by declaring war on Hamas, launching air strikes and ground raids, and cutting off essential supply lines to the blockaded Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million Palestinians.

The death toll has risen to thousands for both sides, with no end in sight.

In Hong Kong, Jewish and Muslim groups have been finding ways to support their respective communities through donation drives, gatherings, seminars and prayer sessions.

Israeli international student Ilia Cheremnikh, 41, doing his masters in business administration at the University of Hong Kong, said his family narrowly escaped a Hamas rocket attack on his home of Har Adar, an Israeli settlement outside Jerusalem.

Since last weekend, he has been donating money to different groups back home, sharing information on social media, and getting together with Israeli classmates to share their feelings and update one another on news about their families.

“It’s difficult to be so far away because I cannot help as much from here as I would if I was back home,” he said. “I’ve been trying to play my part.”

At the Ohel Leah synagogue, Hong Kong’s oldest Jewish house of worship, Rabbi Oser said: “We are praying, we are offering assistance and support to members of our community who have family in Israel, and are feeling anxious and isolated.”

Another group, the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong (UJC), has held numerous informal gatherings and set up a task force to build mental health programmes for local community members and run other support projects for Israel.

Rabbi Stanton Zamek said: “This is a very difficult time for all of us, so it’s really important for us to be together as a congregational community.”

One Israeli in Hong Kong told the Post he was considering returning home to fight alongside his countrymen, and knew of others who had already done so.

Idan, 27, who asked to be identified by his first name only, said he grew up in one of the many communal villages, known as kibbutz, which were targeted by Hamas last weekend.

“The people who got murdered, who got kidnapped, were my friends,” he said. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.”

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Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Muslim community has begun mobilising support for one another and the Palestinians in Gaza.

At the Kowloon Mosque in Tsim Sha Tsui on Thursday, Mufti Arshad said the peace prayer was being recited at all five daily prayer sessions, including the Friday prayer usually attended by about 4,000 Muslims.

The peace prayer also brought Palestinians in the city together to raise funds for those affected by the war.

On Thursday evening, a group called Hong Kong for Palestine hosted a seminar attended by dozens of people from different ethnic backgrounds.

Polytechnic research fellow Hamoda Abu-Odah, a Palestinian, shared what he witnessed while working as a nurse in Gaza and how the Israel-Hamas war was affecting his people.

“I haven’t slept in six days,” he said. “My family is in Palestine and I cannot contact them.”

He said he stayed up waiting anxiously for family members to post on his Facebook wall, telling him they were alive.

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Palestinian business owner Musab, 36, who asked to be referred to by his first name, moved to Hong Kong in 2003 from Jordan, but said he still had family in Gaza.

“I am normally so busy with work, I don’t have time to interact with other Palestinians in Hong Kong,” he said. “But I met some Palestinians at the peace prayer and we wanted to help people back home.”

Musab said he and 10 others had raised US$5,000 (HK$39,100) so far, half their goal of collecting US$10,000 to send aid to Gaza.

Charity coordinator Siddiq Bazarwala, a Hong Kong-born Indian, has raised HK$115,000 through an organisation called Gaza Fund.

“We plan to work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Save the Children, Oxfam, UNHCR and other organisations to help reach the civilian population of Gaza,” he said.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Cheung and Sylvia Ma