As of Wednesday evening, Rabbi Allen Bell of West Palm Beach, who is visiting Israel in the company of his wife, Susan, had multiple plans for returning to South Florida as Iranian missiles rained down on Tel Aviv.
Plan A: Drive over the Jordanian border to Amman, for a flight to JFK International Airport in New York and a connecting American Airlines flight to Miami.
Plan B: On June 28, catch a flight with KLM. “That’s all dependent on the airport, whether it opens or not,” he said. “Everybody is making their own way.”
There was a third possibility: When the American Embassy reopens on Friday, the couple can learn what types of plans the U.S. Government has devised to help evacuate many Americans who want to come home.
Embassy gears up
“While we were in the bomb shelter we started getting notifications from relatives in the states that … they are going to try to start to do something for us starting Friday,” Bell told the South Florida Sun Sentinel by phone after emerging from a Tel Aviv shelter. “We haven’t heard anything from the embassy in Israel. We’re in this hotel with people from all over the world.”
On his X social media account, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee published this message to Americans seeking to leave:
“Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel @usembassyjlm is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures. You must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) (https://mytravel.state.gov/s/step) You will be alerted w/ updates.”
The rabbi, who leads the 125-family unit Temple Beth El in West Palm Beach, said he and his wife, along with another couple who had traveled to Israel to attend the wedding of an Israeli military member who visited his congregation, were safe and taking their situations in stride.
“We’re all safe; we’re all in good spirits,” he said. “This started early tonight. Usually we have to go down into the shelter twice a night. It starts from 12:30 a.m. to 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock. And then we moan and groan because we’re tired the rest of the day.”
Incalculable numbers of Americans appeared to be in similar states of flux Wednesday as their visits for religious, family, educational or other reasons were cut short by the outbreak of the air war between Israel and Iran last week.
“As of this morning we still had about 63 Broward people who were still there,” said Joy Prevor, vice president of special projects for the Broward Jewish Federation. “I’m sure there is more. It’s ongoing.”
Airlifts under way
A promised airlift by planes chartered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of 1,500 young Jewish adults visiting Israel through the Birthright Israel cultural program appeared to have started with an initial flight of American evacuees lifting off Wednesday from Cyprus, which is now a transit point for outbound visitors who are leaving Israel.
The program participants had embarked upon a 13-hour voyage aboard a cruise ship Tuesday under an Israeli naval escort.
The flight from Cyprus was expected to land at Tampa International Airport early Thursday morning, and more flights were expected to arrive later.
Generally speaking, the state appears to be poised to help any Floridians and other U.S. residents now in Israel who wish to distance themselves from the new round of warfare emerging between Israel and Iran.
Brian Wright, a deputy press secretary, said: “The State of Florida, at Governor DeSantis’ direction, is working to facilitate evacuations from Israel for Americans.”
The Florida Division of Emergency Management wrote on its Facebook account that it is “actively coordinating efforts to assist Americans seeking evacuation from the hostile situation in Israel.”
Those in need of assistance are invited to visit the website floridadisaster.org/Israel.
Another airlift effort — sponsored by Project Dynamo, a nonprofit founded in 2021 by military veterans based in Tampa and Houston — has transported 100 people through Jordan to the United States, said marketing managing director Christy Monahan.
She said the organization had stationed volunteers in the Middle East last week in anticipation of an Israel-Iran clash.
“When the missiles started is when they started evacuations,” Monahan said.
East and west traffic
In the meantime, Cyprus has become a major eastbound-westbound way station for travelers headed in both directions as a number of Israelis are trying to return to their homeland from abroad as missiles fly and airport use for civilian purposes is severely restricted. EL AL Israel Airlines, the nation’s national airline, has been operating repatriation flights into Ben Gurion Airport, which is closed to most other airlines, according to reports.
In Laranaca, Cyprus, where the Israeli cruise ship docked on Wednesday, Carrie Best-Lary, of Weston, found herself at the convergence of Americans leaving and Israelis returning, according to The Associated Press.
She was among those on a 10-day journey through Israel sponsored by Birthright Israel to reconnect with their Jewish identity by soaking up Israel’s history and culture.
“We saw explosions … we saw missiles,” Best-Lary told The AP. “We heard sirens. … we went to [the] shelter the minute we got that notification. It’s a very scary time.”
But Rabbi Bell, who said he is an avid student of history, asserted the attacks launched by Israel against Iran since last week will prove themselves worthy of the effort.
“These things hit me with a little different force than other people,” he said, referring to the forces at play that led to World War II and the murder of 6 million Jews in Europe. “History has a funny way of repeating itself and no one wants to see mushroom clouds over the Middle East. Israel did what they had to do.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.