OUR COMMUNITY

9-11: 20 YEARS LATER continued from page 17

18 | SEPTEMBER 9 • 2021 

the TV screen and nearly 11 hours 
after the first plane hit, we finally 
saw what the entire world had 
already known and seen time and 
time again, all while we were just 
a few miles away from where it all 
happened.
” 

IN HIS OWN WORDS
Yoav said: “
After that, everything 
changed. I kept a copy of the NY 
Times that was placed outside the 
door the following 
morning. And I did 
what every Israeli 
does the day after a 
terror attack, I went 
outside, back on the 
streets. And maybe 
that is the memory 
that burns brightest for me, New 
York City itself, the day after. One 
of the most vibrant cities in world, 
of constant noise, of nonstop 
hustle and bustle, suddenly silent, 
empty, gloomy — a big cloud of 
dust covering the streets and a 
strong smell of smoke and devas-
tation.
“I remember walking by the 
fire stations, seeing the memorial 
candles that were already placed 
outside. A city full of grief. It felt 
as if I was walking in the streets 
of Tel Aviv during Yom Kippur. I 
was simply incapable at that time 
to even begin to process the mag-
nitude of the historical tragic event 
that I was a part of. It was all so 
surreal. 
 “We in Israel, we are used to the 
notion of, ‘This could have been 
you.
’ Many of us will endure that 
sense at least a few times during 
our lives here. We get it during 
our mandatory Army service, 
during the many wars that even 
someone my age has already been 
through. And it was definitely a 
repeating notion during 2001, in 
the midst of the Second Intifada. 
Back then, ‘It could have been you’ 
was just a bus ride away, a visit to 
a restaurant or a shopping center 
or a night out at the bar or at the 

dance club. 
 “
And, so, for me, to suddenly 
find myself an ocean away in one 
of the liveliest and vibrant cities in 
the world and still get hit by the 
same notion of ‘this could have 
been me,
’ it made my stomach 
turn.
” 

MEETING THE DETROIT 
DELEGATION AT JFK
A few days following the attacks, 
while stuck in New York without 
any idea of what to do next, Yoav 
received a message from Hillel’s 
Miriam Starkman that Federation 
had arranged a bus to Detroit. He 
and his dad joined the Detroit del-
egation at JFK.
“The inspiring and emotion-
al experience of the bus ride 
cemented my relationship with 
our Detroit Jewish community,
” 
said Raban, who is now director of 
Grants and Relations in the Israel 
& Overseas Department of 
Federation. “It made it my bashert 
and created one of my most mean-
ingful and important life-changing 
and lifelong connections. 
“I have been fortunate that 
through my connection with the 
Detroit Jewish community and 
our Partnership Region relation-
ship, that I have had the opportu-
nity to get back to Detroit every 
year since 2001 until the recent 
COVID crisis, which ended my 
consecutive streak at 18 years,
” he 
continued.
“
About three years ago, I felt 
that I finally got some closure 
for my personal journey when I 
went back again to visit the new 
World Trade Center Tower and 
was able to get back on top of the 
new observation deck, which now 
also serves as a beautiful memorial 
tribute.
“I felt more at peace after that, 
feeling the strength and spirit of 
the human creation and the pas-
sion of life and how it will always 
triumph over darkness and the 
desire for destruction.
” 

Working with the govern-
ment and El Al, whose repu-
tation for security was beyond 
reproach, Sherman was able 
to secure a plane for Friday 
morning. There was an El Al 
plane bringing Israelis who 
had family that perished in the 
towers to New York. Levin was 
able to get them on that jet. 
“It was quite an under-
taking,” Sherman said. “On 
Thursday morning, I told peo-
ple to be ready at a moment’s 
notice. I told them at 6 to get 
on the bus by 8 p.m. They 
spent Thursday night at the 
airport, but nobody com-
plained.”
Sherman waited for the sec-
ond plane before leaving Israel. 
“Everything happened so fast,” 
she said. “I never saw a TV 
when I was there — never had 
the time. I didn’t see what hap-
pened until I got back.”
Stein was one of the peo-
ple waiting at the airport. “I 
promised my wife I would 
come home on that first flight,” 
he said. “
At one point, Larry 
Jackier, who was a fabulous 
leader, asked if we were will-
ing to sleep in the airport. 
We stayed in the airport for 
about 30 hours. I met so many 
people I didn’t know. It was as 
different a night as I can ever 
remember.” 
Nineteen of the Detroit 
delegation were on that plane, 
the first international flight to 
arrive in the U.S. after 9-11. 
The rest stayed until after 
Shabbat.
“When we landed, JFK was 

empty,” Jackier said. “You could 
still see the smoke.” 
Marta Rosenthal said it was 
“eerie — kind of spooky. It was 
like they had done a spring 
cleaning. Jetways were against 
the buildings. We were at cus-
toms with the Israeli families. I 
asked one of the agents, ‘
Are we 
really the first?’ She said abso-
lutely. We hadn’t seen a soul.”
Davidoff said it was like 
being in a ghost town. “They 
had just started domestic 
flights. Should we wait or 
drive? We took a vote and 
decided we should drive. I 
called Federation and told 
them we needed a bus, and a 
bus appeared.”
They were joined by a young 
Israeli from the Partnership 
Region and his father, who 
were also trying to make their 
way to Detroit (see sidebar).
On the drive home, the 
bus made a stop at a 7-11 in 
Pennsylvania and they bought 
bread, candles and vodka and 
made Shabbos, Stein said. “It 
was so emotional for us to 
share a Shabbos after what we 
had been through and what we 
had seen. It is a lasting memo-
ry for me.” 
Davidoff recalls traveling 
across the country and seeing 
American flags on every single 
building. 
“We were passing flags on 
cornfields,” Kirsbaum recalled.
The delegation arrived home 
at 5 a.m., Jackier recalls. 
“Like everyone else, the first 
thing I did was kiss my fam-
ily.” 

continued from page 17

“IT WAS SO EMOTIONAL FOR US TO 
SHARE A SHABBOS AFTER WHAT 
WE HAD BEEN THROUGH AND 

WHAT WE HAD SEEN. ”

— BERT STEIN

Yoav Raban

