SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Israel and Palestinian supporters gathered in cities across the U.S. on Sunday as the world watched in shock and horror at the conflict that has killed hundreds and wounded thousands in the Middle East.

A skirmish broke out between opposing demonstrators near the United Nations compound in New York City after a large group of Palestinian supporters rallied in Times Square. Meanwhile, Palestinian Americans protested outside the Israeli consulates in Atlanta and Chicago. The incursion left many Jewish communities and organizations in disbelief — drawing widespread condemnation — as it coincided with Simchat Torah celebrations, a major Jewish holiday.

In San Francisco, a Jewish community gathered at the Congregation Sherith Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. Some students from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, 25 miles from Gaza, were visiting San Francisco for a week as part of a delegation from the Hillel organization.

They expressed their eagerness to return home and help out in any way they could. Yuval Appleboim, 26, told USA TODAY that his family lives less than 20 miles from Gaza.

"My sister and my nephews are in a bunker right now. Sometimes they have the electricity cut off. My uncle had a rocket land just two houses away," Appleboim said. "It’s really hard to be so far away from your friends at this time. I have a friend who left his 9-day-old daughter to go serve with the reserves."

Appleboim, who is also a reservist in the Israeli military, said his unit had been called to action and he wants to get back as soon as possible to help.

"I’m pro-Palestinian, I think many Israelis are pro-Palestinian in the fact that they want a better future with the Palestinian people, they want peace," Appleboim added. "But this is the tragedy: The terror organization attacking Israel is not only killing thousands of Israelis but it’s causing the death of so many Palestinians and doesn’t care about their own lives."

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'This is a moment to not be alone'

Yael Shafrir, 28, shared the same sentiments during the gathering in San Francisco. While it was difficult to attend the gathering on Sunday, Shafrir said the community felt support from the world.

“It was difficult to come (to the temple today) but for us this is a moment to not be alone, feeling like the community around the world is hugging us and supporting us.," Shafrir said. "We really need that."

Shafrir also noted the complexity of the conflict, signaling the people caught in the crosshairs.

“We do not want to fight against Palestinians. Our intention is not to harm anybody, any resident of the Gaza Strip," Shafrir said. "Eventually they’re fighting a terror organization, not the people. That’s what the army is working really hard to do, to not harm innocent people."

Palestinians 'capable of fighting back'

Hatem Abudayyeh, co-founder and national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), said his organization was concerned over the death toll and injuries but noted that people were "inspired by the unified Palestinian Resistance."

The USPCN, according to Abudayyeh, is a community-based institution that helps strengthen grass-roots organizing in Palestinian and Arab communities across the United States. Abudayyeh said in an email to USA TODAY that there is a "rich" history of resistance among Palestinians and it was not a surprise that attacks happened.

"Our people are still capable of fighting back and defending their homes and land, it makes us want to organize even harder to support them from the 'belly of the beast,'" Abudayyeh said.

Abudayyeh, who is based in Chicago, added the USPCN coordinating with all of its chapters to provide resources for organizing in their communities. He said thousands of people have gathered on Sunday to protest outside Israeli consulates on Sunday, including 2,000 in Chicago and 1,000 in San Francisco.

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'Liberation is at stake'

Separated by a line of police officers wearing helmets and carrying batons, pro-Israel demonstrators and Palestinian supporters chanted slogans, waved flags and signs, and yelled at each other in front of the San Francisco Israeli Consulate on Sunday afternoon. 

While one side chanted "Free, free, free Palestine," the other responded with, "Shame, shame" the day after the Hamas massacre on Israeli soil. 

Rami Abdelkarim, 23, a U.S.-born Palestinian with extended family in the motherland, denounced what he called an Israeli occupation and said the Hamas attack was the escalation of decades of resistance, this one prompted by an increase in Israeli settlements. 

Asked if he was concerned about an Israeli reprisal, Abdelkarim said: "Absolutely. Israel is the biggest recipient of United States military funding." 

But Abdelkarim, an organizer for the Palestinian Youth Movement, added that for Palestinians back home, "when their livelihoods and their liberation is at stake, Israel does not scare them.” Read more here.

Yasin Ayesh, 29, a Bay Area resident draped in a Palestinian flag, said he attended the rally to advocate for an end to the occupation and for Palestinians to get the same human rights as Israelis. Born in California, he visited relatives in the West Bank most recently in 2019 and said there were no big problems then but the city where his family lives, Jenin, is under military occupation with checkpoints, and water and electricity are hard to come by in some areas.

"The people there don’t have real medical care, they don’t have what they need when it comes to food, the children don’t have any education because of apartheid," Ayesh said. "They have every right as every human being."

Ayesh said he doesn’t advocate any loss of life, but accounts of the attack require context.

“We have to first look at what happened before the attack. That was a history of people being mistreated for 45 years. … That’s what led to the attacks, to the resistance."

Lack of optimism

Shai Elnekave, 49, an Israeli-Australian who attended the temple rally Sunday, worried for loved ones. Elnekave said it’s a small country and most people know someone affected.

“They have crossed a line that I think is going to be very hard to go back from. This is only the beginning and now there’s going to be a huge wave of Israeli counterattack and retaliation, and there’s a war in place.’’

“I really wish we could find – with U.S. intervention, with world intervention – some sort of treaty that will resolve this. I wish. But sadly, I am not optimistic, because there are extremists on both ends, and it’s important to mention that.’’

Contributing: The Associated Press