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Miami Herald
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami woman stranded in Israel returns, says ‘I can breathe again'
Dahlia Bendavid went without birthday candles on Saturday, ringing in her 59th year aboard a flight to Vienna. The Austrian capital was not her dream locale, she confessed, but how could she not jump at the chance? Travel options are limited when attempting to flee a war zone. The Aventura woman was one of several Miamians who found themselves stranded in Israel after the country's June 13 surprise missile attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and top military officials. With retaliation from Iran hours later, the two Middle Eastern countries have spent the last 11 days in a lethal tit-for-tat that's left hundreds dead, according to the Associated Press. READ MORE: 'Oh my God, what's going on?' Miami visitors stranded as missiles target Israel Since the conflict's start, Bendavid's daily routine came to include mapping out bomb shelters near her place, creating group chats to keep tabs on other marooned South Floridians and applying for every evacuation route available to Americans. Now safely home, she admits the stress of living amid siren sounds and missile debris has yet to wear off. 'On the one hand, I feel like a weight that was on my chest has been lifted and I can breathe again,' said the 59-year-old. 'But at the same time, it's bittersweet, because I'm constantly thinking about the people there and also feel guilty about not being there.' Bendavid touched ground in Miami Sunday at 6:30 p.m. after a multi-stop route that took her through Tel Aviv, Vienna and Zurich before arriving home. Originally planning to leave Tuesday on one of Gov. Ron DeSantis four chartered jets, resourced by Tampa-based nonprofit Grey Bull Rescue, her hopes were crushed when the first group of evacuees was delayed into a three-day journey that temporarily halted other scheduled trips. READ MORE: Americans fleeing Israel fly to Tampa on flights chartered by DeSantis Leaving behind fellow South Floridians, including her coworkers from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation with whom she entered Israel two weeks before the conflict, proved tougher than her desire to make it back home. She estimates around 500 residents of Miami-Dade County are still stuck in the country based on a WhatsApp chat her team created for stranded South Floridians to stay in contact and share tips for evacuating. Bendavid's escape route was facilitated by the Jewish Agency for Israel, a partner of the nonprofit she works for, which offered to fly her group out from Ben Gurion Airport, located in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. From there, she traveled to Vienna where she overnighted before heading to Zurich and, finally, Miami, totaling 15 hours in the air. Since takeoff was slated for Saturday, a few group members chose to stay back to observe the Sabbath. Those left behind, whether by choice or circumstance, are stuck adapting to a dystopian reality, says Bendavid. Her 29-year-old son Ariel, who moved to Tel Aviv a year and a half ago, is adjusting to 30-minute sleep intervals as sirens go off at an almost hourly rate, forcing Israelis to wake up, find shelter and wait out the alerts multiple times a night. A friend of Bendavid's and her daughter continue to clock in to their jobs while stranded, comparing it to an all-too-familiar form of isolation. 'In a way, it's kind of like COVID, where you're not straying far from your house. You're all stuck inside, working on Zooms and doing your work remote, plus the feeling of being post-October 7,' she said. 'But yet, this is scarier, because of the missiles and the potential damage.' Anxiety left from being stranded in the war zone and evacuee's guilt keeps her up at night — Bendavid says she slept a little over an hour her first night home, compulsively checking the latest news on the conflict — but she's grateful for the perspective it's granted her and others from the Western world. 'People [in Israel] try to go about their daily business as much as they can and, when you're here, you're removed from it,' she said. 'You look all over the world at conflict, and for the most part, people in the United States are extremely privileged and fortunate. I don't think people realize how much we are here.'
New York Post
21-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Jewish New Yorkers rip Gov. Hochul for failing to help evacuate those stranded in Israel amid conflict with Iran
Gov. Hochul has done 'nothing' to evacuate New Yorkers stranded in Israel as missiles from Iran rain down on the country — while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has helped get hundreds of people to safety, angry families told The Post. Frantic calls to Hochul's office this week went unanswered, according to those trying to get their relatives home. 'It wouldn't even occur to Hochul to help constituents stranded in a war zone,' fumed one Long Islander with a teen relative studying in Israel. 'She's doing nothing.' Meanwhile, DeSantis contracted with the nonprofit Grey Bull Rescue to help about 1,500 Americans from multiple states get home. 4 Hochul was accused of 'deafening silence' on the issue of Americans who have been stranded in Israel. Gabriella Bass With Israel's airspace almost completely shut down, about 5,000 Americans have sought help, with the number of requests 'skyrocketing,' according to the rescue group. Desperate, they're taking ships from Israel to Lanarca in Cyprus, or traveling by land to Amman, Jordan and flying to Cyprus in a bid to get to America — all with the help of DeSantis' operation, which arranged for four wide-bodied chartered planes to collect them. So far DeSantis has welcomed two flights. 4 Gov. DeSantis had his state contract with a rescue group to help get Americans home. Getty Images 'She should be doing what DeSantis did — partner with private contractors to get your citizens out,' the frantic relative, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said of Hochul. 'She should have organized this already,' the relative added. 'There's no excuse to sit on her hands as she heads the state with the most Jews in the country.' Erika Reichelscheimer said she felt 'completely abandoned' after calling the governor every day to no avail about her elderly parents, who were on a week's vacation in Israel when the conflict erupted June 13. 4 About 1,500 Americans have fled Israel thanks to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he said. Erez Uzir, courtesy of Birthright Israel 'We cannot even get a call back,' said Reichelscheimer. 'Disappointed is an understatement.' 'I haven't even seen Hochul say anything,' said Reichelscheimer, 34, Her dad is running out of his heart medication. Meanwhile her brother, in Israel separately, was able to flee because of DeSantis' efforts, she said. Asked what message she would give to Hochul, a distraught Reichelscheimer begged: 'Please use your vast resources and platform as the governor of New York to help your constituents that are literally in a life or death situation abroad. The silence from your office on this has been deafening.' 'DeSantis is doing what he is supposed to do,' said a Long Island couple whose 18-year-old is stranded and who also requested anonymity. 'We wish Hochul was doing the same.' 4 Elise Stefanik slammed Hochul as a 'disgrace' for failing to get New Yorkers home from Israel. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is believed to be challenging Hochul in the next election, slammed the governor. 'No answers from the Governor. No action. Not even the dignity of a call back. It's an utter disgrace. Kathy Hochul continues to prove she is the worst governor in America,' said Stefanik. 'Just last week, she proudly handed $50 million in New Yorkers' hard-earned taxpayer money to illegal migrants — and now, when actual New Yorkers are trapped in a war zone, she's doing absolutely nothing.' 'It's an absolute farce what's going on and Hochul should be ashamed of herself,' railed former veteran state assemblyman Dov Hikind, who said he's fielded countless phone calls from those looking for help. Hochul is a 'steadfast ally to Israel and to New York's Jewish community,' her spokesman, Avi Small said, adding the administration is 'in active conversations with Governors from other states with large Jewish populations to determine how to coordinate travel for constituents if commercial flights do not resume.' Roughly 1.4 million Jews live in New York state.
Miami Herald
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘Living on pins and needles.' Second rescue flight from Israel lands in Florida
A second rescue flight carrying Floridians and other Americans stranded in Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Iran landed in Tampa early Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. 'There are going to be more folks that are going to be rescued,' said DeSantis, calling the evacuation missions the 'most logistically challenging rescues' the state has done during his time as governor. This is 'an ongoing effort.' The state is working with several groups, including Tampa-based and veteran-led Grey Bull Rescue, to coordinate evacuation and rescue efforts as commercial flights to and from Israel are halted. Florida Sen. Jay Collins from Tampa, a retired Green Beret, is in Israel assisting the rescue group with the evacuation efforts. So far, Florida has flown over 300 people and 'we have put on a passenger ferry over 1,000 more,' said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the state's response to hurricanes and other disasters. The people rescued have included families, veterans and college students. Guthrie said state officials and the rescue groups would not discuss logistic details of the rescue operations, citing safety issues for the people being evacuated and the rescuers. What a Broward man says about the rescue Broward County resident Josh Hammer, a Newsweek senior editor-at-large and host of 'The Josh Hammer Show' podcast, was one of many who arrived early Friday to Tampa. Hammer, who lives in Hallandale Beach, went to Israel about a week and half ago with his family and 6-month old baby girl to attend a family wedding. Then the airstrikes began. We were 'living on pins and needles for the sirens to go off,' with just '90 seconds to two minutes' to run into a bomb shelter, he said. 'The whole week has just been a total blur,' Hammer said at a Friday news conference. 'I feel like I'm not even here right now, physically.' Hammer shared more of his family's harrowing experience on the social media site X, which included crossing the border into Jordan and flying to Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, before finally boarding a flight to Florida. 'Suffice it to say this was not the trip we had in mind. The past week has been absolutely crazy — especially with a six-month-old baby girl,' he said his post. 'None of this has been easy, to put it mildly. We will have some crazy stories for our daughter one day. Her first official passport stamp, humorously, is Jordan, since Israel doesn't stamp passports anymore.' Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Israel to Level 4, its highest level, and is warning U.S. citizens to not travel to the country 'due to armed conflict, terrorism, and civil unrest.' The West Bank and Gaza are also under the 'Do Not Travel' Level 4 advisory. This is the second time the DeSantis administration has helped get stranded Floridians out of Israel during conflict in the Middle East. In 2023, during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the state helped fly out nearly 700 Americans from Israel. Florida is directing Americans who need help to get out of Israel to fill out a form at
CBS News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Americans fleeing Israel arrive in Tampa, greeted by Gov. DeSantis
Florida is helping Americans stranded in Israel get home. Gov. Ron DeSantis said evacuation flights are underway and so far the state has rescued more than 160 Americans. Early Friday morning, DeSantis was at Tampa International Airport to greet passengers on two rescue flights. The governor said the mission will continue. "The reality is that there will be more folks that are going to be rescued. This is an ongoing effort. I know that potentially there are some other states that want to get in the game at this point. The reality is that there is definitely a need for more. I know we helped get people out of Israel initially which is important, I don't know when Ben Gurion Airport is going to open again. It may not open for some time," he said. DeSantis said the state is leading the effort to get people home, especially college students from Florida who are stuck in israel. Americans stranded in Israel can fill out an emergency evacuation form from Grey Bull Rescue, a Tampa nonprofit that helps rescue citizens in conflict zones.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rescue group ramps up evacuations of Americans in Israel
(NewsNation) — Demand is surging for a U.S. rescue organization's services as thousands of Americans seek to leave Israel during the country's ongoing conflict with Iran. 'In the rescue game, every day's an adventure. Most of us haven't slept in three or four days, including myself,' Bryan Stern, founder of Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, told 'Elizabeth Vargas Reports' on Thursday while updating his group's efforts to get Americans to safety. He said about 5,000 'pretty desperate' travelers have asked for assistance in exiting Israel as the U.S. State Department urges people not to travel to the Holy Land. Trump has reviewed attack plans on Iran: Source 'I do agree with the State Department — it's time for everyone to go,' Stern said. 'The situation's going to get worse, not better. The risk is certainly increasing, not decreasing. … You could always come back.' Because airspace is restricted, Stern's organization, which is staffed by military veterans like himself, must make arrangements by land or sea for the evacuations. The latter option is not optimum, he said. 'Maritime operations are hard, and I'm not really a fan of them, to be frank. Bad things happen on the water. Engines break. People get sick. People drown,' Stern said. 'The land and the air are far safer and more forgiving.' For information about how to help support Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, check out the organization's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
