With airports in Israel closed, Jewish New Yorkers are desperate to find ways in
Despite a current US State Department advisory against travel to Israel 'due to armed conflict, terrorism and civil unrest' and closed airspace, some determined New Yorkers want to be in the Holy Land to show their solidarity with and support for the Jewish state.
'I feel guilty that I'm not there with my brothers and sisters being subjected to these missiles,' said Todd Richman, a Long Islander whose flight to Israel was canceled last Thursday as news broke of Israel's preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear sites. 'I feel guilty. It's hard to explain.'
Since airports are shuttered, the 55-year-old, who works in finance, said he's looked into alternate means to get into the Jewish state, including a ship, to no avail. The minute flights open up, Richman declared, 'I'm there.'
4 Amidst Israel's conflict with Iran, some New Yorkers say they would like to be in the Holy Land showing solidarity with Israelis.
ATEF SAFADI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The married dad-of-three added, 'It's hard to explain how you can want to be in a war zone right now, but there's something you feel in your heart.'
With friends and family running into bomb shelters every night amidst a barrage of ballistic missiles launched from Iran, there's a sense of powerlessness.
'I'm watching it through their eyes and I wish I was there with them,' he said. 'There's something unique about the Jewish ruach (spirit) about being together during such a situation.'
With 24 Israelis killed and hundreds injured in the days-long Iranian missile barrage, people are determined to stay resilient and strong in the face of evil.
'They're having bar mitzvahs in the shelters, singing in the shelters, celebrating life in the shelters,' Richman said, adding, 'I still feel safe there. In some ways you feel safer being in Israel with ballistic missiles landing than you do in most other parts of the world.'
Chava Blivaiss, a 36-year-old trauma surgeon, feels similarly.
'People think I'm crazy, [but] I just feel the need to be there,' she told The Post.
4 'I feel guilty that I'm not there with my brothers and sisters being subjected to these missiles,' said Todd Richman.'
Courtesy of Todd Richman
The Long Islander is on standby with a fully packed bag, passport and medical IDs sitting by the door.
'I'm always ready to run into the fire — and if I could be there right now, I would,' she said. 'Even if I wasn't a trauma surgeon, I'd want to be there just as much. I'd go shopping there and help the economy, buying falafels.'
While she's had no shortage of rockets and close calls before in Israel over the past year — sometimes having a mere 30 seconds to run to the bomb shelter in places like Ashkelon — Blivaiss asserted, 'it still feels safer there than it does here … you get used to the rockets and the running and the sirens.'
Yocheved 'Kim' Ruttenberg, the American founder of Sword of Iron – Israel Volunteer Corp, a grassroots initiative that began as a modest Facebook group after October 7, said she's been inundated with messages from would-be volunteers from all over the world trying to reach Israel now.
4 'People think I'm crazy, [but] I just feel the need to be there,' said trauma surgeon Chava Blivaiss.
Courtesy of Dr. Chava Blivaiss
'It doesn't make logical sense. It's something you can't explain, you just feel it,' Ruttenberg, 24, told The Post.
It's a sentiment that David Harris, former longtime CEO of the American Jewish Committee, understands.
The 75-year-old longtime Jewish activist, who lives in Manhattan, told The Post that he is planning to go to Israel as soon as he can. He's gone against the grain before.
During the first Gulf War, when missiles started flying from Iraq to Israel, he said he was on the 'first plane to Israel.' He got a flight with legendary comedian Jackie Mason, with virtually no one else on board.
'We wanted to show solidarity and sit in the sealed rooms simply because there was nowhere else we wanted to be,' he said.
4 Yocheved 'Kim' Ruttenberg said her organization has been inundated with requests from people wanting to volunteer in Israel.
Courtesy of Yocheved "Kim" Ruttenberg
During the 2006 Lebanon War, he never thought twice about running to the Holy Land to 'sit in bomb shelters and tell Israelis they're not alone,' he said. 'And to tell myself that I wouldn't simply be a bystander rooting from far … There's no way to simply say that's their war and my place is here. My place is there.'
Richman noted that people feeling this way is unique to Israel and the Jewish people.
He said, 'Tell me what other country that's at war that has people scrambling to get back into the country.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
29 minutes ago
- The Hill
Where US troops in Mideast are most at risk of Iran strike
The Big Story Tens of thousands of U.S. troops are within Iran's striking distance should President Trump decide to wade into Israel's conflict with Tehran and directly attack the country. © Alex Brandon, Associated Press More than 40,000 American service members and civilians — as well as billions of dollars in military equipment — are in the Middle East, spread out across bases in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Those working in countries closest to Iran, including Iraq and Kuwait, would conceivably have only minutes to prepare for an incoming Iranian strike, a likely outcome should Trump order the U.S. military to join Israel's bombing campaign, experts say. 'If [Iran] had the ballistic missiles ready to go, those strikes could happen in under 15 minutes. Launched to target,' retired Col. Seth Krummrich, vice president at security consultancy firm Global Guardian, told The Hill. 'They move very quickly.' Israel last week unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on Iran that set off the largest conflict ever between the two regional adversaries, with Tehran responding with its own attacks. The war has threatened to pull in the U.S., which says it supports Israel's right to defend itself but has not directly involved itself in the bombing. Trump has not yet decided on possible American military action against Iran, telling reporters through his top spokesperson that he would make his decision within two weeks. But Iran has already threatened to directly attack U.S. forces should they enter Israel's war campaign, with the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning Wednesday that 'Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.' Tehran's threats aren't idle, as the country has retaliated against Washington in the past, most notably in January 2020, when Trump in his first term ordered an airstrike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force. The strike, which happened as Soleimani traveled to Baghdad, prompted a swift response from Iran, which days later hammered Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq and another U.S. base in Erbil with 13 ballistic missiles. While no Americans were killed in the largest ballistic missile attack ever against U.S. forces abroad, more than 100 were later diagnosed and treated for traumatic brain injuries. Now, with Trump reportedly considering using the GBU-57 — known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator or so-called bunker buster bomb — to damage Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, a similar attack from Tehran could soon be at hand. Read the full report at Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect defense and national security now and inthe future: Trump: 'Hard' for Israel to stop strikes now President Trump said Friday it would be difficult for Israel to stop strikes on Iran at this point, a week into the intense conflict between the two nations and two weeks out from the president's decision on U.S. involvement. 'I think it's very hard to make that request right now,' he said when pressed about the Iranian foreign minister saying that the U.S. would call on Israel to stop airstrikes if Trump is serious about … Democrat: Trump 2-week Iran deadline 'not a bad thing' Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) tepidly praised President Trump on his handling of the ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran, after the president said he would wait two weeks to decide whether to take direct action against Iran. 'The fact that we're not reading about a U.S. attack on Iran right now actually gives me a little bit of comfort,' the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee told independent … Israel, Iran trade strikes as Trump weighs US military involvement Israel and Iran traded strikes on Friday as President Trump weighs the possibility of U.S. involvement and European officials seek to revive nuclear negotiations with Tehran. Israel said it hit 60 Iranian aircrafts early Friday morning along with the headquarters of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, which carries out nuclear weapons research, according to the Associated Press. Iranian media said Israel's … On Our Radar Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: In Other News Branch out with a different read from The Hill: DHS places new limits on lawmakers visiting ICE facilities The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is placing new limitations on lawmakers seeking to visit detention facilities, releasing guidelines in the wake of visits from Democrats that have turned confrontational. Members of Congress have the legal right to make unannounced visits to U.S. Immigration … On Tap Monday Events in and around the defense world: What We're Reading News we've flagged from other outlets: Trending Today Two key stories on The Hill right now: Senate parliamentarian knocks pieces out of Trump's megabill Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled that several key pieces of the massive bill to implement President Trump's agenda run afoul of … Read more Supreme Court rules against FDA, EPA 12:30 Report is The Hill's midday newsletter. Subscribe here or using the box below: Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters … Read more Opinions in The Hill Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: You're all caught up. See you next week! Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
San Francisco Chronicle
39 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Supreme Court delivers another blow to California's imperiled emissions standards
The Supreme Court reinstated legal challenges by oil and gas companies Friday to California's strict emissions standards for motor vehicles, standards that the Trump administration is likely to halt on its own in the near future. Federal law allows California to set tighter limits on auto emissions than the national standard, and since 1990 has allowed other states to adopt California's rules, an option taken by 17 states and the District of Columbia. But fuel companies affected by the increasing use of electric vehicles contend the state's standards are too restrictive and have sued to overturn them. Lower federal courts ruled that companies had failed to show they were being harmed by the standards, and therefore lacked legal standing to sue, because electric car sales are increasing for other reasons. The Supreme Court disagreed in a 7-2 decision. 'The whole point of the regulations is to increase the number of electric vehicles in the new automobile market beyond what consumers would otherwise demand,' Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. 'The government generally may not target a business or industry through stringent and allegedly unlawful regulation, and then evade the resulting lawsuits by claiming that the targets of its regulation should be locked out of court.' But dissenting Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said lawyers in the case had told the court that the Environmental Protection Agency, under President Donald Trump, was about to withdraw its approval of California's waiver from nationwide standards, 'which will put an end to California's emissions program.' The EPA took that action during Trump's first administration, which was reversed under President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed by Trump would prevent California from banning sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles in 2035, a law the state has challenged in court. The Supreme Court 'is already viewed by many as being overly sympathetic to corporate interests,' and Friday's ruling 'will no doubt aid future attempts by the fuel industry to attack the Clean Air Act,' said Jackson, a Biden appointee. In a separate dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the court should have returned the case to a lower court to await the EPA's action. Kavanaugh, however, said fuel companies affected by California's current standards could seek to prove in court that they were arbitrary and unlawful. His opinion was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan. Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board, said it was not a full-scale rejection of the state's emissions standards. 'This ruling does not change California's Advanced Clean Cars rulemaking, nor does it dispute what data has shown to be true: vehicle emissions are a huge source of pollution with grave health impacts, consumer adoption of zero emission vehicles continues to rise, and global auto manufacturers are committed to an electric future,' she said in a statement. But attorney Brett Skorup of the libertarian Cato Institute said the ruling was 'a welcome rebuke to judicial gatekeeping' and affirmed that 'predictable economic harms from government regulation' entitle 'injured parties (to) have their day in court.' The case is Diamond Alternative Energy v. EPA, No. 24-7.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Iran questions US ‘trust' in nuclear talks as negotiations remain stalled amid Islamic Republic's conflict with Israel
Iran is questioning its 'trust' in the US to engage in nuclear talks as Tehran has refused to restart negotiations until Israel halts its attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused the Trump administration of using nuclear negotiations as a cover for Israel's airstrikes on the country's nuclear program, claiming the attacks came just two days before a new round of talks between US and Iranian officials were set to start. 'So they had perhaps this plan in their mind, and they just needed negotiations perhaps to cover it up,' Araqchi said Friday in an interview with NBC News. Advertisement 4 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused the Trump administration of using nuclear negotiations as a cover for Israel's airstrikes on the country's nuclear program. NBC News 'We don't know how we can trust them anymore. What they did was, in fact, a betrayal of diplomacy.' He vowed that negotiations would cease as long as Israel's 'aggression continues,' flatly rejecting Trump's demands to scrap its uranium enrichment and balking at his 'two week' deadline to reach a deal. Advertisement 4 Satellite image of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in Iran. © 2025 PLANET LABS PBC/AFP via Getty Images 'I told him several times zero enrichment is impossible,' Araqui said of his meetings with special envoy Steve Witkoff, who he accused of contributing to a 'lack of confidence' between the two nations. He later called Tehran's nuclear program a scientific 'achievement' and a source of 'pride and dignity,' insisting that even if it were bombed and destroyed, Iran would rebuild it using the knowledge and technology it has amassed over the years. But Araqchi said US officials could resolve the issue with a single phone call to Tel Aviv to halt the attacks. Advertisement 4 Iranian foreign minister expressing distrust of the U.S. following Israeli attacks. NBC News 'They can stop this process very quickly, and then we will consider diplomacy again,' he told reporter Andrea Mitchell during the sit-down. 'They have asked us to negotiate, but we negotiate only when it is negotiation and not dictation.' Israel began its attack on Iran last Friday by taking out its top nuclear scientists and military officials responsible for the country's nuclear enrichment program. Advertisement 4 President Trump gave Iran a two-week deadline to restart negotiations to reach a deal. Ron Sachs/CNP / President Trump earlier this week spent days behind closed doors vacillating between negotiating a deal with Iran to limit its uranium enrichment and potentially joining Israel in bombing Tehran's nuclear facilities. The president said Thursday he'd make a final decision within the 'next two weeks' as he still holds out hope for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Araqchi warned that if the US joins Israel in launching an attack on Iran, the country will strike back. 'When there is a war, both sides attack each other. That's quite understandable. And self-defense is a legitimate right of every country,' he said. 'If the US joins Israel in these attacks, we will do the same.'
