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Why Israelis on Holiday Are Trying to Escape Back to a War Zone

(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Yaakov Katz - On Thursday night, I boarded an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv that was scheduled to land at 3:30 a.m. just as the Iranian attacks began. We were minutes from touchdown when the plane suddenly banked and turned. Twenty minutes later, we were on the ground in Paphos, Cyprus. For nearly two days, I was stuck in Cyprus. But wherever I went - on the streets, at the hotel, or at the Chabad House that opened its doors within hours - I encountered Israelis, dozens of them, all singularly focused on one goal: getting back to Israel. I came back on a tugboat that carried nine of us. An hour into the journey, the sky in front of us suddenly lit up. A flash - then a streak of fire, followed by an explosion. Then another. And another. We all knew what we were witnessing. Our group was sailing directly into a country at war. Ballistic missiles launched by Iran were raining down on our destination. None of us asked if it was safe. Not because we were reckless, but because we were Israeli. That's not how we think. This instinct to return - especially in times of danger - is etched into our national DNA. It's who we are. We saw this after the Hamas invasion on Oct. 7, when thousands of Israelis dropped everything and made their way home. When the sirens wail and the skies explode, Israelis don't run away. They run literally into the fire. In moments like these, you understand what truly defines a nation. It's the people who, when everything is on fire, still choose to come home. The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.
2025-06-18 00:00:00
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