Latest news with #BirthrightIsrael
CBS News
26-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Metro Detroit student details evacuation from Israel during conflict with Iran
When the conflict between Israel and Iran erupted, thousands of Americans were stranded in Israel, including 3,000 students attending organized programs. Adam and Jennifer Fishkind, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, quickly realized they were in a grave situation when their son Aidan could not return home. "It was the most helpless feeling I've ever had, having him in there and not being able to do anything but say, 'It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay,'" said Jennifer Fishkind. "But you don't know." Aidan was in Israel for a two-month-long summer internship through the Birthright Israel Onward program. Jennifer Fishkind said she and her husband didn't sleep when they knew their son was sheltering from salvos of missiles. Aidan arrived back home in Michigan on Sunday, but the experience is still fresh in his mind. "You felt it, you heard it," he said, describing the moments he would take shelter in the stairway of his hostel in Tel Aviv during a red alert. "The closest landing, I think, was about two miles away from where we were staying. You hear it, but you also feel the vibrations, kind of like a loud, deep thunder, is kind of the best way to describe it." He spent the first days of the conflict in Tel Aviv, but his program worked fast to move thousands of American students to the Dead Sea, which was considered to be a safer area. He said he was overwhelmed with calls and texts at all hours from worried loved ones and friends back home. "It's difficult to comfort others while trying to keep yourself alive, so sometimes you just have to hope that people will be there for each other while you can't," he said. Aidan's mother said she booked multiple flights to try to get him home, but they were all promptly canceled after flights from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport were suspended on June 13. It became a waiting game, and she had to trust that the program he was on would get him home safely. Birthright Israel Onward and the Jewish Federation of Detroit coordinated an evacuation for the students, which began with a boat from Israel to Cyprus. Aidan said that at one point, the internet on the ship was disabled so the students could not reveal their location for security reasons. "They took care of things," said Jennifer Fishkind. "I mean, they moved heaven and earth to get him home." The students traveled from the port of Ashdod to Cyprus, then to various airports in Europe, where they boarded flights to their hometowns. Jennifer Fishkind described the moment she felt she could finally breathe again. "Really, truly, when he walked out of international customs and I could get my arms around him," she said.
The Hill
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Americans fleeing Israel on evacuation flights to Florida
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Americans fleeing the deadly conflict between Israel and Iran are heading back to the U.S. thanks, in part, to Florida officials. Early Wednesday, a cruise ship transported roughly 1,500 people from Israel to Cyprus. From there, some boarded a plane bound for Tampa. Carrie Best-Lary, from Broward County, was one of those transported to Cyprus. She had traveled to Israel for a 10-day trip sponsored by the Birthright Israel Foundation, just ahead of her 50th birthday. Now, instead of reconnecting with her Jewish identity, she's fleeing back to the United States after barrages of Iranian missile strikes targeted Israel, following Israel's missile strikes on Iran. 'We saw explosions … we saw missiles,' she said. 'We heard sirens … we went to (the) shelter the minute we got that notification.' 'It's a very scary time,' she continued. Birthright Israel officials said Gov. Ron DeSantis helped coordinate four wide-body planes to fly all U.S. participants to Tampa. From there, they will be able to continue on to their respective hometowns. Tampa Jewish Community Relations Council Chair Jonathan Ellis said he's proud of the effort made by Florida's governor, as 1,500 Americans now have a path to escape the conflict and come back home. 'Florida has the resources to make sure that American citizens can get back to the U.S. that were stranded in Israel,' he said. 'You have to commend him for the actions he's taking.' 'Look, Gov. DeSantis has been a tremendous friend to the state of Israel,' he added. 'He has a commitment to, not only the state of Israel, but to the citizens of the state of Florida and to the American citizens.' Countries all over the world, meanwhile, are evacuating their nationals from Israel and Iran by air, land and sea as conflict rages between the bitter rivals. Days of attacks and reprisals by the two enemies have shuttered airspace across the Middle East, severely disrupting commercial flights and leaving people unable to get in or out of the region easily. Some governments are even using land borders to get their citizens out by road to countries where airports remain open. Thousands of foreigners have already left since the conflict started last Friday when Israel launched surprise missile strikes on Iran. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
1,500 Jewish Americans evacuated from Israel as DeSantis sponsors rescue flights to Tampa
As violence escalates in Israel during its conflict with Iran, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is dispatching four planes to evacuate 1,500 stranded Americans. Mano Maritime cruise ship Crown Iris picked up the evacuees in Ashdod, Israel, and took them on a 13-hour steam trip to Lanarca, Cyprus. Most passengers were from a program called Birthright Israel, which provides educational trips to the Holy Land for young Americans of Jewish descent or creed. Israeli airspace has been closed since the bombings from Iran began. After the ship arrived in Lanarca under the protection of the Israeli navy, according to the Times of Israel, Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark said it was a "complex and emotional operation, carried out under immense pressure, and we are proud to have brought 1,500 young adults safely to Cyprus." From Cyprus, DeSantis and the Florida Department of Emergency Management volunteered four wide-body planes to take the Jewish Americans home. Additionally, a Tampa lawmaker and retired Green Beret told the Floridian Press he left Hillsborough County for Israel earlier in the week as part of an effort to help get thousands more Americans home. State Sen. Jay Collins, a Republican considered a potential pick for the lieutenant governorship in 2026, said Sunday he and the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation were looking to help evacuation efforts, according to the outlet. In 2023, DeSantis also dispatched planes to Israel to evacuate Americans after Hamas massacred Jews on Oct. 7 of that year. The governor told Fox News at the time he felt the need to "fill the void" left by the Biden administration in their own response to the terror attack. "It was sad because the State Department and the embassy over in Israel were not helpful to these people. If you think about it, illegal aliens come across our southern border and the federal government will fly them all over the country for free," he said at the time, referring to Biden's "ghost flights" that sent migrants to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; White Plains, New York, and other smaller airports. In that operation, at least 300 people were evacuated from Tel Aviv and met by the governor and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis at Tampa International Airport in Florida's third-largest city. Florida has the third-highest Jewish population, behind New York and California, according to reports – with an estimated 650,000, particularly in Miami Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.
New York Post
18-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
US working to organize evacuation ships, flights for Americans in Israel as embassy closes for next three days
The United States was working to organize evacuation routes for Americans in Israel — as the Jewish state and Iran continued to fire barrages of missiles at each other. It comes after the embassy revealed it would be shut from Wednesday through Friday in order to comply with Israeli guidance. The US Embassy in Jerusalem was working on the evacuation arrangements, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee announced in a post on X. 3 Passengers who had left Israel on Tuesday aboard the Crown Iris cruise ship. REUTERS 3 Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the US Embassy was working on evacuation arrangements. AFP via Getty Images Huckabee urged US citizens still in Israel to sign up for updates through the State Department's Smart Traveler program as tensions mounted. 3 Birthright Israel evacuated approximately 1,500 program participants earlier today aboard the Crown Iris. Erez Uzir, courtesy of Birthright Israel The warnings came as intense Israeli airstrikes continued to pummel Iran's capital early Wednesday — a day after President Trump demanded 'unconditional surrender' from the Islamic Republic's leaders.
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Americans fleeing Israel fly to Tampa on flights chartered by DeSantis
Gov. Ron DeSantis chartered four jets to bring almost 1,500 Jewish Americans on a Birthright Israel trip home through Tampa International Airport as the country's conflict with Iran intensifies. The American participants fled from Israel to Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, via cruise ship. There, they were to board flights bound for Tampa, according to a statement from Birthright Israel, which funds trips to the country, largely for young Jewish adults. The Florida Division of Emergency Management wrote on Facebook Sunday that it is 'actively coordinating efforts to assist Americans seeking evacuation from the hostile situation in Israel.' Birthright Israel said it will pay for all its participants' transportation costs. Two local nonprofits are helping rescue stranded Americans. Sierra Dean, a spokesperson for the governor, urged other Americans stranded in Israel to fill out an emergency evacuation form from Grey Bull Rescue, a Tampa nonprofit that helps rescue citizens in conflict zones. State Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, wrote on X Sunday that he was 'en route to Israel to assist the State of Florida and Grey Bull Rescue with evacuation efforts.' Project Dynamo, another Tampa nonprofit, also has teams on the ground in Israel and Jordan to help evacuate Americans, according to Fox 13. Ashley Pontius, a spokesperson for Grey Bull Rescue, said she'll announce when the first flights to Tampa are scheduled to arrive later today. In October 2023, at the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, DeSantis' office said they had flown nearly 700 Americans from Israel to Florida. Then, a multi-agency resource center was established at Tampa International to coordinate state resources and nonprofit support, according to the Governor's Office. A spokesperson for Tampa International referred a request for comment to the Florida Department of Transportation. The department did not respond in time for publication.
