This is the first in a series this week of Minnesotans and their journeys home from Israel last month after Operation Rising Lion.
Minnetonka’s Max Wolfe had been looking forward to a summer in Israel as part of Birthright Israel’s Onward program: a two-week birthright trip, followed by an internship through late July. On June 13, for him and thousands of other Jewish kids across the country, the summer plans changed on a dime.
Wolfe, and several friends from the Twin Cities were among the group of young adults who were evacuated from Israel by cruise ship to Cyprus as Israel and Iran traded attacks after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion. Roughly 90 hours of travel later, Wolfe arrived back in Minneapolis on June 23 at 6 p.m.
As the attack on Iran started on the early hours of Friday, June 13, Wolfe and his friends were doing what many young adults do Israel at that time – coming home from the club.
“We heard the warning sirens from the car, and then we all got the phone alerts,” he said. “Our driver didn’t speak a lick of English, and turns up the radio, and my friend asked what he’s saying, and he just goes, ‘Iran, Iran.’”
The Onward groups started moving south away from Tel Aviv as the barrage of missiles picked up. Wolfe ended up in Eilat, the southern-most point of Israel. That was when they found out the trip was cancelled. They were among the roughly 1,500 people on the boat to Limassol, Cyprus. They then caught a flight to Rome, had 16 hours in the Eternal City and went on tours to see some of the sights, before coming back to the U.S.
While in Israel, Wolfe said he never felt unsafe; he knew going in that even in the best of times, the occasional warning siren could go off. And during the Birthright portion of the trip, it was quiet. But once he settled into his internship, activity started picking up ahead of June 13.
“You just kind of had to wait it out and see what’s going on,” he said. “When we were sitting in those shelters, we felt perfectly safe and just wanted to go back to bed. All the Israelis are nervous, but they’re calm.”
Wolfe, a junior at Wisconsin-Madison majoring in journalism, had an internship with Tazuz, a company that set up sports leagues and academies for adults – especially tourists who were coming to Israel for an extended time and looking for an athletic outlet.
“They’re trying to create community between people that are from Israel, not from Israel,” he said. “Anyone around the world could play volleyball, but it’s finding the commonality between people.”
Wesley Besikof, Parker Gendler, and Julianna Seewald, also from the Twin Cities, were part of Wolfe’s journey home. There were about 30 people in their Onward cohort who got a good look at what life is like for Israelis when the sirens start going.
“Even after it started, we walk around during the day, and we just have to be semi-close to a safe space,” he said. “We were walking around outside. People were still on the beach and in the water. I mean, life slowly went on, but you know, it was definitely more hesitant once it started.”
1 comment