MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - In the face of recent Hamas attacks on Israel, Miami resident Nati Schnitman, an Israeli native, wasted no time in extending a helping hand to his homeland, where his wife and three children reside.
“It’s scary — every single person in Israel has been affected by this one way or another, either friends,” he said. “We got a guy who works in our company that was in the party who got killed. My friend’s cousin got killed. We have all my cousins who are serving in the military now, they all got drafted. So everybody’s affected in one way.”
Schnitman’s heartfelt response to the crisis resulted in the creation of “America for Israel” in just one day. This initiative swiftly gathered resources, establishing a website, mobilizing warehouses filled with supplies, securing hundreds of donors, and rallying over a thousand volunteers.
“The only good thing that has happened from this horrible day and horrible war is that it’s united everyone together,” expressed Schnitman.
One remarkable aspect of this effort was Schnitman’s commitment to daily deliveries. He, alongside his team, ensured the assembly of equipment and supplies that were then flown to Israel on El Al flights. These resources primarily provided much-needed support for Israeli soldiers.
“It’s mostly help for soldiers,” explained Schnitman. “For comfort, for different tactical things. We made an arrangement with airlines. We made lists of items from the soldiers and we have warehouses here, warehouses in Israel and then we can collect it here to send it to Israel to pick it up in Israel.”
As those supplies leave for Israel- hundreds of Americans flying here, with 270 individuals, including 91 children, arriveing in Florida on a state-sanctioned charter flight on Sunday night. Governor Ron DeSantis, his wife, and children were there to greet them on the tarmac.
“I think if you were watching, there was a lot of families with young kids,” remarked DeSantis after he welcomed the Israelis to Florida. “A lot of these people were in a real pinch. They had no help, they were not able to get out of Israel and the state of Florida stepped up and answered the call.”
Governor DeSantis partnered with Project Dynamo to facilitate this remarkable journey, allowing Floridians and Americans to return home free of charge.
Project Dynamo CEO and Founder Bryan Stern expressed the extraordinary nature of this mission.
“It’s incredibly dangerous, it’s incredibly scary,” he stated. “All this people were taking missile fire. It’s dicey and they’re not soldiers. This is their first rescue.
The federal government is also stepping up to help those in need of evacuations as they are planning to help people in the war-torn countries by air and by sea.
Anyone who would like to help America for Israel can do so here.
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