TURMOIL IN MIDEAST FELT CLOSER TO HOME.

Byline: BRAD A. GREENBERG Staff Writer

Jews and Muslims living in Los Angeles tuned in Thursday to the escalating crisis in the Mideast, as Israel struck Lebanon in retaliation for attacks by Hezbollah guerrillas.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined hundreds of Angelenos on Thursday night at a peace demonstration at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Jews, Muslims and Lebanese-Americans, meanwhile, expressed support that generally fell along religious and ethnic lines.

``This is the time finally that we deal with this problem with Lebanon and the Palestinians,'' said Tamar Yechezkiely, 24, of Studio City, who has a brother in the Israeli army.

``Before now, it was a very delicate situation and we were afraid of doing something. Now the world knows there is nothing else we can do. We've tried everything.''

But Muslim-American organizations had a different take on the situation.

``The Muslim-American community demands that Israel end its onslaught on the civilians of Palestine and Lebanon and to begin negotiations for a prisoner exchange,'' said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations.

Ayloush added that Israeli government officials should be tried for war crimes for attacks that have claimed the lives of civilians.

Israel blames Lebanon for Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight others. The Lebanese government says it was not involved in the abductions, although the Hezbollah faction holds seats in the country's parliament.

Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, who is of Lebanese descent, said he understands why Israel responded with force.

``If it was an American soldier who was kidnapped, I would expect us to respond,'' Zine said. ``It's unfortunate that Israel did this, but the Lebanese government has to work with them to identify and root out terrorists.''

Some Lebanese-Americans placed the blame for Hezbollah's operation on Syria, which has been accused of controlling politics in neighboring Lebanon since the 1980s and is for the furtherance of a Palestinian state.

``We're very peaceful people. That is what we are looking for,'' said Baha Hakim, a cook at Carnival Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, which has a large Lebanese clientele. ``We're not fighting people.''

Rabbi Tsafreer Lev, a teacher at the New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, said Israel viewed the soldiers' kidnapping as an attack on their country.

``To them, it is not just a person,'' he said. ``It's a religious mission.''

Staff writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report.

brad.greenberg(at)dailynews.com

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