Paterson is a proudly American, proudly Arab town. Founded around New Jersey's Great Falls by Alexander Hamilton in 1792, it was America's first planned industrial zone. Waves of immigrants built Paterson into a real city, starting with Italian and Arab silk weavers in the 19th century. The classic brick buildings, some of them featured in The Sopranos, host businesses like Fattal's Syrian Bakery and George's Middle-East Grocery.
Today, Paterson is in mourning. The war in Gaza has hit close to home. Mohammad Qatanani, the imam of the local mosque, says he lost 15 family members to an Israeli air raid. Several other New Jersey residents are among the hundreds of Americans who were visiting Gaza when the war trapped them there. Palestinian Americans and their supporters have held several rallies in Paterson and nearby New York City.
