MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - A rescue operation to bring Jewish Americans stranded in Israel safely back to the United States has proven to be successful, with one flight carrying dozens of evacuees landing at Miami International Airport.
Thursday morning’s landing comes as thousands of other Jewish Americans find themselves stuck in harm’s way, as commercial flights in and out of Israel have been suspended amid gowing tensions between Israel and Iran.
“We couldn’t find another way back, we signed up for different ways — evacuation, rescue ways — and it just didn’t work out for us, so we had to go through Jordan. We had to get back home,” said South Florida resident Danielle Gozlan. “It was really hard, especially for the kids, hearing the sirens go off every so often. It was really hard. They were terrified.”
Gozlan and her family’s journey is like so many others. Several organizations across the region have been assisting Americans caught in the crossfire.
Judy Elias, the founder of Heroes to Heroes, was leading a veterans group through Israel. They went through the dangerous trip through Jordan, calling on the rescue foundation Project Dynamo for assistance.
“People were scared, and they didn’t want to wait, met them at the Jordanian border. They scheduled the guide, they got scheduled buses,” said Elias. “A few [inaudible] were at the border because they always are, but Dynamo was amazing, and all of us at Heroes to Heroes were so grateful, and it was such a blessing to get them to the airport in Amman. As of now, everyone is out of Jordan and many are home.”
The Birthright Israel program, a cultural and educational foundation for Jewish adults based in New York, said 1,500 of their participants were rescued and boarded a plane bound for Tampa International Airport, but not before taking a cruise ship from Israel to Cyprus, all thanks to the state of Florida.
“I’m just elated that he’s finally back on U.S. soil, and we are very thankful,” said a woman whose son was taking part in the Birthright trip. “When we got word from him that he said, ‘[Gov.] Ron DeSantis is fly us to Tampa,’ that’s all we got, because the signal was very spotty, and here they are.”
Aventura Commissioner Paul Kruss is among those home bound. He boarded a flight from Cyprus through the state’s charter program. He’d been visiting family.
Last week, he showed 7News the bomb shelter where he spent several nights during Iran’s retaliatory attack against Israel
“I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to go home, but really, the ones that are doing the hard work and really defending all of us, because Israel is on the front line of the war on terrorism, so we should all be very grateful for the work they are doing,” said Kruss.
The commissioner is expected to land in Tampa sometime Thursday or early Friday.
His flight is not the last of them as many people are trying to leave the war-torn country through state of Florida programs or other private efforts.
Grey Bull Rescue, a nonprofit rescue organization based in Tampa, shared photos of 300 Floridians that were rescued from Israel and are en route to Tampa.
The organization, alongside Florida State Sen. Jay Collins of Tampa, said they’ve rescued at least 4,000 American evacuees from Israel as of late Thursday.
“Our good friends of the state of Florida are backing us up. We’ve partnered with Gov. DeSantis and the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Those have all been successful,” said Bryan Stern with Grey Bull Rescue. “We’re waiting on one more, which is imminent, and then we have a series of other ones right behind it.”
One of those people traveling on these flights is 20-year-old Tova, who was in Israel after finishing her studies and now is trying to get back to the United States.
Her father, Rabbi Yossi Harlig, said the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran isn’t just news he’s watching from afar, it’s personal for him.
“She has had to go many times running into a bomb shelter,” he said.
Harlig said he worries about his daughter’s safety in Israel, but thanks to Grey Bull Rescue, she will be on her way home soon.
“This is a group of people that have experience with this. They said hopefully Sunday, if not Monday. She’s leaving the school tomorrow, driving to Jerusalem. She wants to be there a day in advance, in case missiles go off in the middle of the night, she can’t leave,” said Harlig.
Stern said the organization’s work is just getting started. They hope to eventually rescue 8,000 evacuees, including some international ones.
“We’ll probably be at 6,000, and I would bet by Saturday. We have buses, airplane, maritime options which remain solid,” said Stern.
The U.S. State Department is also coordinating charter flights and cruise ships that will evacuate Americans from Israel.
Harlig said that while he doesn’t recommend people make the rescue journey to Israel on their own, he hopes people in the U.S. do everything they can to get Israeli Americans home safely.
“What’s going on in the world, we’re all in it together. and we have to support each other,” he said.
The Jewish Federation of Broward County is also actively finding ways to connect stranded Floridians with resources for a safe return. It has created a WhatsApp group to connect people with resources on cruises and flights out of Israel. To be added to the group chat, click here.
If you or someone you know needs evacuation assistance, please register and fill out the Grey Bull Rescue form to request help.
DeSantis is expected to greet evacuees landing in Tampa and give some remarks on Friday morning.
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