Representatives of London’s Jewish and Palestinian communities react to the ceasefire in Gaza

The proposed Gaza ceasefire has London’s Israeli and Palestinian communities waiting with bated breath, CTV London's Gerry Dewan reports.

There were numerous demonstrations and solemn vigils in London in the wake the attack by members of Hamas on Jewish residents in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Now, as the first stage of the ceasefire gets underway, Jewish London Executive Director Dean Lavi told CTV News there is a real desire to express relief and celebrate, but he believes it’s too early for that.

“At the end of the day, first of all, I won’t be celebrating anything until the, the hostages are back home with their families and hugging their loved ones.”

Samah Al Sabagh is a representative of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association in London. She stresses that the mission now for Palestinians is to help the people of Gaza heal and rebuild, “I’m not talking about materialistically. You know, the buildings, the schools, the hospitals. I’m talking about also rebuilding their self-esteem, their broken hearts”

Throughout the 15-month war members of the Palestinian community have been critical of the Canadian government for not doing more to pressure for an end to the conflict.

Now they’re anxious to see more done to help those impacted by it, including those who tried to escape Gaza, “We have families who have paid an enormous amount of money to get out of Gaza into Egypt in the hopes that their, you know, they’ll make their way to Canada. But they are now stuck. I have an aunt and a cousin who’s stuck in Egypt.”

Lavi said many members of the Jewish community became withdrawn during the conflict as they faced a growing number of antisemitic incidents, but he wants them to be able to feel confident stepping forward, “The result of a world that’s increasingly antisemitic is to be more Jewish, and not less Jewish. Do what makes you feel safe, but I say wear your star of David. If you feel that way wear a kippah. Don’t hide away from your Jewishness.”

Lavi was born in Israel and raised in Canada.

What he experienced growing up was an environment where people can embrace their similarities and celebrate their differences, “I fundamentally, culturally, growing up as an immigrant in Canada, you know, the people that I found myself naturally gravitating towards were those that have a similar culture. So who are my friends? They were they were Jews and they were Persians, and they were Arabs, and they were southern Italians.”

Lavi says the true test of the ceasefire will come when Hamas is asked to surrender control of Gaza.