KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Many people in the Kansas City area closely watch updates coming out of Israel where there are bombings, missiles and pain.
"It's tragic," Samantha Von Ende, a local Jewish consultant and educator, said. "It's horrible, it's gut-wrenching, all of us feel that. All of us who care about Israel, who also care about humanity."
The conflict continues, pushing toward a second full week, but Von Ende says something has changed.
"The blatant antisemitism," she said. "We saw protesters taking to the streets, we've seen Jewish shops vandalized all over the world. Horrible chants, justifications, celebration, has been something that has been sort of like a secondary trauma."
Von Ende is a consultant and speaker on Israel and antisemitism. She previously worked for the Israeli consulate in Atlanta.
While she fights hatred at home, her brother is reenlisting with the Israel Defense Forces, to fight for Israel.
It's bittersweet for Von Ende.
"It's a mixture of terror and pride," she said.
She's proud he's standing up, but says neither of them should have to go through this.
"This is a really incredible region with promising people and aspiring governments even, that have just been stuck in old structures," Von Ende said.
Changing that takes support.
Not just from leaders in Kansas City, she's seen that, but global leaders, too.
She says President Joe Biden's visit to Israel is a good sign.
"I think to free Palestine, you have to dislodge Hamas," she said. "What I envision hopefully coming out of this is a free Palestine, a free and secure democratic Israel."
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