Winner of Vol. 72, No. 15
the Pulitzer Prize Thursday, May 20, 2021
$1.00
DECADES-LONG CONFLICT HITS HOME
MASAO KATAGAMI / File
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
The back-and-forth attacks are thousands of miles away, yet the latest clash between Israel and Palestine has ignited deep feelings from both sides here in America, including a protest last weekend, at right, backing Palestinians, including from these women wearing keffiyehs while chanting in Arabic in Brooklyn. But this divide is hardly new, like this Seton Park rally, at left, supporting Israel back in 2014. There are still few answers on how to finally end the cycle of attack, counter-attack, that pits two faiths — and societies — at odds with each other.
Middle East violence invokes calls for peace n History keeps repeating itself as the ‘powder-keg’ clashes are escalating faster than ever before By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
As a young boy, Charles Moerdler remembers the bombs Nazis dropped night after night on London during their World War II blitzkrieg. Now, well into his 80s, he never thought he’d have to experience such terror again. But as violence breaks out again between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors, Moerdler is there, on the ground, with a front-row seat to history he never asked for. Yet in emails sent to a number of his friends, family members and acquaintances back in the Bronx, it’s clear which side the longtime community leader is on.
What’s inside?
“This is the second time in my lifetime that I have been among the targets of deadly rockets,” Moerdler said. “Nazis then, Hamas terrorists now. Their goals, objectives and targets were/ are the same: Kill civilians and create intimidating terror.” However, many may not draw the same extreme conclusions as Moerdler, seeing the growing conflict in the Middle East as something far more complicated. Both Israel and Hamas have exchanged airstrikes and rocket attacks, respectively, over the past week. Adding to the unrest, Jewish and Arab mobs have violently clashed in various cities throughout Israel. It’s all what Pam Chasek describes as “distressing. Not unexpected, but distressing.” “It’s a powder-keg,” the chair of Manhattan College’s political science department said. “This happens all of the time. This (time it) escalated very quickly, but the problem is that it’s never going to be gone.” Chasek’s research in that region is focused on
‘My heart goes out to the Palestinians, of course, but also the Israeli citizens who are fearful. I can’t dehumanize Israelis completely. We should not dehumanize Palestinians. We should not demonize Israelis.’
— Mehnaz Afridi
environmental issues, but she holds a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies and has closely followed tensions between Israel and Palestinians for decades.
A quick escalation The current conflict, she said, first started in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem where several Arab families faced eviction by
Israel’s supreme court. Israel has occupied East Jerusalem — which Palestinians view as the capital of their future state — since 1967, a move not recognized by the greater international community. Since then, Jewish families have tried to displace Palestinians in this part of the ancient city. Palestinians have protested these impending evictions for the past month, creating a number of clashes with police that culminated in a violent PEACE, page A4
Wasting no time on vaccine
Campus return may mean a pain in the arm, or two
A life of service He wears many hats, but Sergio Villaverde finds giving back to be his most importan work. Page A5
n Vaccine shots may be required for full return to CUNY, SUNY this fall By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com Courtesy of Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy/Jane Haslam
Sophie Gribetz gets her first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a one-day vaccine clinic last week hosted by the sixth-grader’s school, SAR Academy. The clinic provided shots just a day after the minimum age of those who could get the Pfizer vaccine was lowered to 12.
A shot of hope for our younger children n CDC approves Pfizer shot for all teens, making ‘normal’ seem not so far away now By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
People have had a rough go of it over the past year or so in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But kids might have had the roughest time of all. Proms, graduations and other end-ofyear celebrations were canceled last summer. Then there were a few false starts to
the academic year last fall, with most public school students still learning remotely. But there’s now a shred of hope for the city’s youngest residents — especially those who have at least reached their 12th birthday. The Food and Drug Administration lowered the age eligibility of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine last week from 16 to 12. At the moment, it’s the only vaccine available to kids with shots from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson approved only for adults. The moment the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on the FDA’s decision, SAR Academy was ready. The educational institution and its associ-
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ated high school up the street were among the first campuses in New York — and the country — to close in March 2020 as society was introduced to SARS-CoV-2. Now, 14 months later, its lower school transformed into a pop-up vaccination site the very first day this new age group was eligible to get the shot. The Pfizer news was obviously no surprise. In fact, many anticipated the FDA and CDC lowering the eligibility age for a month or so, giving SAR time to prepare. The school partnered with UJA Federation New York to ensure Pfizer doses were ready for the school the moment the federal govHOPE SHOT, page A4
It was only a year ago greater New York City was the American epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as we near the midpoint of 2021, restrictions are winding down and life seems to be slowly returning to normal. That’s due in large part to the arrival of the coronavirus vaccine, which has set much of the country on the fast lane to recovery. As of May 16, nearly 50 percent of New York residents received at least one dose of the vaccine, while more than 40 percent have completed their vaccine series. Getting vaccinated might not be the be-all, end-all of the state’s recovery. But it might become a key component of the upcoming academic year for the state’s colleges — at least some of them. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week students attending CUNY and SUNY institutions would require full vaccination against the coronavirus if they want to physically attend classes on campus. And while he has no jurisCAMPUS RETURN, page A4