University of Pittsburgh student evacuated from Israel during war with Iran
“We sometimes heard explosions overhead,” he said. “One friend who was outside during one of the sirens saw a missile being intercepted. Luckily, none landed very close to us.”
Levi (a pseudonym, for security reasons) recalled an argument in the shelter where he and his peers sought safety on a regular basis when alarms warned that Iranian missiles were entering Israeli air space.
“Someone got a nosebleed and needed to use the bathroom,” Levi said. “The madricha who was present did not let her exit at first, which sparked a small argument.”
Emotions ran high inside the packed building, which was hot and had very little air flow.
“It was usually tense,” Levi remembered. “Everyone was sleep deprived.”
Levi, a rising junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in mechanical engineering, had been in the Jewish state since May 12, first with Birthright Israel and then with the Birthright Israel Onward program, an internship opportunity for young adults who spend six to 10 weeks in Israel to live, work and study. The program is administered locally by Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
In the early days of the war, Levi said, tension was exacerbated by the uncertainty of the situation.
“The main thing was not knowing what was going to happen,” he said. “A siren would go off at 3 or 4 a.m. We were just waiting for it to happen. It was not fun because we weren’t able to live our lives. We lived in a state of, ‘What’s the next hour going to bring?’”
The most amount of time he spent in a safe room was about an hour, he said, calling the experience “stress inducing.”
“We sometimes heard explosions overhead,” he said. “One friend who was outside during one of the sirens saw a missile being intercepted. Luckily, none landed very close to us.”
Eventually, the group began using a parking garage for shelter, which Levi said was preferable because it was more spacious and better ventilated.
“We brought cards and even a soccer ball, so we managed to entertain ourselves,” he said.
Levi is now back in the United States. His trip was cut short and the Birthright Israel Onward group was evacuated.
Levi said he was moved from Tel Aviv to Eilat. From there, the group — nearly 1,600 people from various programs in Israel — was taken by cruise chip to Cyprus before catching a flight from Rome back to the States.
“It was very conflicting,” he said. “People were trying to have a good time and enjoy it, but we were also fleeing war, so it was very weird and dynamic.”
Levi was born in Israel but grew up in the United States. His father is Israeli and his parents lived in the Jewish state for nearly two decades, including during the Gulf War. That experience gave Levi’s mother a sense of perspective others might not have.
“We weren’t as concerned after Oct. 7, his being there,” she said. “I know the guides have people who are up to date on the security situation, making sure not to take them to places that could be at risk.”
Still, she said, it was concerning to hear reports about Tel Aviv coming under Iranian fire.
Levi said both his parents wanted regular updates but tried not to create more stress in what was already a tense situation.
“We got very concerned,” Levi’s mother said. “They moved to Eilat, which helped us feel better because we knew it wasn’t targeted. But the day they got there, a drone was shot out of the air.”
When the groups were eventually evacuated to the cruise liner, an Israeli Navy ship accompanied the boat to international waters.
Even the relative security of Cyprus didn’t provide complete safety, though.
“When they had just left Cyprus, there was a guy arrested who was planning a terror attack on Israelis and Jews,” she said.
Levi’s parents were happy with how Hillel JUC and Birthright Israel Onward handled the situation.
“I was very pleased,” she said. “They were in communication. They sent out regular emails. I really appreciated that. They even had a Zoom call with parents to ask any questions we had.”
And yet, a parent’s worry still lingers.
“When your child is there, even though he’s 20, it’s still very scary. It’s a different experience,” she said. “You feel helpless because there’s nothing you can do. There were no planes in and out. We couldn’t even go there if we wanted. We trusted completely in the group and the leadership of the group to take care of them and make good decisions.”
Daniel Marcus, the executive director of Hillel JUC, was one of the leaders tasked with ensuring the security of students who traveled to Israel as part of the Birthright Israel Onward program.
“They created a fabulous plan,” Marcus said. “They supported and facilitated the students to get them back to their hometowns in the United States.”
Both Hillel and the Federation, he said, had complete confidence in Birthright Israel Onward’s ability to evacuate the students.
“They cared, managed and supported the students during a war,” he said.
Marcus said that Hillel JUC is exploring the possibility of returning students to Israel whose programs were cut short.
“There’s a lot of logistics, safety, security and practical elements of making that happen, and how, but we’re working with Birthright Israel Onward now to see if and how that’s possible,” he said.
That news would be of interest to Levi, who said he had enjoyed the first two weeks of his internship as well as the friendships he made.
Despite the war, that seems to be a popular opinion among those who took part in the program.
“All my friends say they really miss Israel,” Levi said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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