Stranded in Israel amid war, Pittsburghers stay positive
'Be patient. It’s out of our control. We need to make the most of it and look for simpler ways to enjoy our experience'
Shoshana Levari kind of made it to Philadelphia for her grandfather’s 70th birthday on June 15. In lieu of celebrating alongside her parents, siblings, cousins and other relatives, she joined the group via FaceTime.
Near the end of the video call, the family gathered for a photo. Levari, 19, remained on the phone. Just as the photo was taken, someone lifted their device to include Levari’s image in the shot.
“It was a bit rough, but it was nice,” Levari told the Chronicle by phone from Modi’in, Israel.
Levari, like several Pittsburghers who are stranded in Israel while the Jewish state continues Operation Rising Lion, is trying to stay positive.
After Israel attacked more than a dozen Iranian sites on June 13 in an effort to dismantle the regime’s weapons production capabilities, flights in and out of the Jewish state were canceled.
The situation presents a new wrinkle for several Pittsburghers in Israel. For much of the year, Levari navigated life abroad during war: avoid certain areas, respond to sirens and retreat to shelters when necessary.
Being unable to leave, though, was unexpected.
“We are in a lockdown. It’s feeling like COVID again,” she said.
Another Squirrel Hill teen, Yoni Kanal, was scheduled to depart the Holy Land on June 18.
Three days prior, he was alerted his flight was canceled.
The situation is “weird,” he said.
Kanal, 19, spoke with the Chronicle by phone from his dormitory. For the past year, the Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh graduate has studied at Yeshivat Yishrei Lev in Kiryat Ye’arim. The gap year program was supposed to end June 18. After Rising Lion began, the yeshiva extended operations until June 25.
“I don’t mind staying here for another week, it’s just unexpected,” he said.
Kanal’s summer plans include working at a Jewish camp in Baltimore and joining his family for a trip to Glacier National Park. He’s optimistic he’ll make both.
Shmuel Isenberg, 39, is also trying to stay positive. The Squirrel Hill resident is in Israel on a long-awaited family trip. For months, the Isenbergs crafted a detailed itinerary; and, after arriving in Israel on June 12, they completed day one.
“We went to Latrun tank museum. We went to the cemetery to visit my mother’s grave. We went on a hike, and we stayed in Ramat Beit Shemesh Thursday night,” he said.
On Friday morning, the family attempted to visit Jerusalem’s Old City. They parked their car at the Mamilla parking garage and entered the open-air shopping center.
“It was like a ghost town — all the stores were closed,” Isenberg said.
Business conditions haven’t changed much since then, he continued. “Most shops are closed.
Pharmacies, grocery stores and some restaurants are open, like pizza shops, but you have to take it to go.”
Isenberg likened the experience to “being in COVID again,” he said by phone from Ramat Beit Shemesh. “While the country is shut down, you have to stay near your house because you don’t know when the sirens will go off.”
Virtually all of the Isenbergs’ scheduled tours have been canceled. Most sites they intended to visit are unreachable. Adding further unrest to the situation is not knowing when the seven-member group can return to Pittsburgh.
“We were supposed to come back June 23, but we just got notification that the flight was canceled,” he said.
Isenberg thinks the earliest departures will be closer to June 30.
“El Al would be happy to fly us out tomorrow if they could, but they can’t,” he said.
All the while, he’s clinging to a mantra: “Be patient. It’s out of our control. We need to make the most of it and look for simpler ways to enjoy our experience.”
Susan Sofayov said she is trying to lean into the country’s calm.
“I think to myself if this was happening in Pittsburgh hell would break loose, but here it is systematic. They know how to do it, what to do. It’s scary to say, but it’s almost like an ordinary day,” Sofayov said by phone from Israel. “No one is running in the streets, screaming. Yes, there are bombs coming but there are instructions for everything and you just follow them and do the best you can to stay safe.”
Sofayov, 62, is in Kfar Yuval, a moshav in northern Israel. She arrived in Israel on June 10 and was supposed to be enjoying a multigenerational vacation.
“We were going to do Jerusalem, Safed, the Dead Sea, all the touristy things,” she said.
Along with not enjoying those experiences, several members of the group are still in the U.S. When a health incident prevented some family members from making their flight, their travel was rescheduled. But then the war started and Israel-bound flights were suspended, she said.
Sofayov, a Mt. Lebanon resident, is supposed to leave Israel on June 25. She remains “cautiously optimistic” her flight will take off.
In the meantime, more important matters come to mind.
“I want Pittsburghers to know that Israelis are incredibly courageous people,” she said. “The amount of care for one another is truly remarkable. They know they are going to come through this. It’s annoying. It’s dangerous. Our hearts are broken, but Israel is going to survive.”
Supporting Israelis and those affected by current events is critical, Levari said.
“This is a big event in terms of Jewish history. This is about defeating the enemy of the Jews — Iran wants to kill us. If you are living in Europe or America and not understanding the gravity of what is happening, this is about making a better future for our children. We all have a home here, even if you’re not connected,” she said. “This is not a small thing just for Israelis to feel.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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