Fear mounts among WNY's Jewish and Muslim communities following U.S. strikes in Iran

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The eyes of the world are watching and waiting for the next move in the concerning conflict between Israel and Iran. Now that the U.S. is involved, fear is mounting among the Jewish and Muslim communities of Western New York as both sides pray for a peaceful resolution and brace for what's to come.

As tensions mount and the conflict intensifies, many members of Buffalo's Jewish community are concerned following President Donald Trump's decision to strike three of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites on Sunday.

"People are very nervous, both in Israel, both in the U.S., because we don't know where this could go," said Rabbi Mendy Labkowski, director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life of Buffalo.

Labkowski was born in Israel and has family members who still live there. Since the start of the conflict, he has tried to maintain as much contact as possible; however, with the state of uncertainty, that's becoming a tall task.

"It's scary to hear them going into the bomb shelters," Labkowski said. "My grandparents are almost 80 years old, and calling them just this past Friday morning, and they picked up the phone and were like, 'Do you hear the siren? We've got to go into the bomb shelters.' And it's really not a way of living."

Concerns aren't just mounting in the Jewish community of Western New York, but in the Muslim community as well. Both sides share in their concern and fears over where this conflict could lead.

"Everybody is worried," said Dr. Khalid Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York. "Not only worried, but there is a distinct fear in the community, and that's a reflection of the fear of the Iranians as well."

Following the U.S. strikes, President Trump addressed the nation and claimed Iran’s key nuclear sites were "completely and fully obliterated." Meanwhile, some of Iran's leadership have claimed that nuclear material was moved from the targeted strikes ahead of time.

Dr. Qazi says there are serious concerns that the goal of the U.S. strikes could actually have the opposite effect if in fact it's true that Iran moved its materials.

"Iran would probably want to go for the nuclear option now for sure because they can see that that option is the only safety for their national sovereignty," Dr. Qazi said. "They might actually enhance the nuclear option now."

Now, as the world watches and waits for the next move in the conflict, both sides are holding out hope and praying for a peaceful resolution.

"I'm just hoping that better sense prevails and this can be de-escalated, and the national sovereignty of other countries is taken seriously," Dr. Qazi said.

"We're really hoping that everything just dies down calmly, and from this point on that they don't have the nuclear capabilities that they might have had," Labkowski said. "We really want peace for both sides."