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to serve. “Both of my sisters’
husbands were called, and
the son of my family’s next-
door neighbors is missing.”
Meirav, who is the Eim
Bayit or House Mother at
Lindenbaum Seminary in
Jerusalem’s southeastern
Arnona neighborhood,
said, “Our group trip to
Poland that was supposed
to leave tonight (Oct. 8)
was canceled because of
the situation.” Lindenbaum,
which is affiliated with
Ohr Torah Stone, founded
by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin,
has programs for North
American students, South
American students, sabras
and students with special
needs in its Midreshet
Darkaynu program.

Aaron Poris, a reporter
and correspondent for the
Media Line, a news agency
covering the Middle East for
English-speaking audiences,
grew up in Metro Detroit
and made aliyah in 2015.
When the Tel Aviv-area
resident heard the first
sirens, he knew it would

be difficult. “We spent the
night in the protected room
with the blast doors closed.
I don’t think that Americans
understand what it means
to have a massive safe room,
also with steel shutters to
close over the window and
filtered air in case of a gas
attack,” he said. “Thankfully,
my daughter is only a year
old, and the dog didn’t care.”
Poris likens all Israel to
one family. “Everybody
knows somebody or is at
most one degree away from
someone who’s been injured
or worse,” he noted.
“Generally, there’s a large
unity across the country.
Small issues aren’t discussed,
set aside. Everything is
focused on helping people.
There are food drives, blood
drives, etc., and the response
is incredible,” he said. “Israel
is very strong; nobody’s
crumbling. There is a feeling
that we’ll get through this;
we’ll end the threat in a
more permanent way.”
He noted there is
considerable tension among
Israelis. He says, “The
real stories are a lot worse
than what is shown on TV
because the media don’t,
can’t, share that kind of

thing,” referring to the 100-
plus kidnapped soldiers,
grandparents, mothers
and children. “Emphasized
by the Hamas videos of
children being tortured and
crying out for their mothers,
Hamas by all intentions
and purposes is ISIS. They
are the same and always
were. This one is just an
Iranian-funded version.
And the evidence is the
glee with which they revel
in the barbarous acts they
jovially film and post. Not
all Gazans are terrorists. But
Hamas definitely is.”
Professionally, he is
covering the war and the
survivors. His stories can be
read at www.themedialine.
org.

Having made aliyah in 2019,
the Warshays, formerly
of Oak Park, heard three
air raid sirens Saturday
morning in Efrat. When
the first one sounded,
Shaina, who was home with
their four children, rushed
everyone into the bomb
shelter, which doubles as
the girls’ bedroom. “We
were getting ready to go to

shul when it sounded. We
have water and some other
supplies stored in the closet,
as well as the beds, books
and games to amuse the
children while we were in
there,” she said.
“We were in the middle
of the morning Amidah
prayer when the first siren
sounded,” said Nathaniel
(author of this story), who
was at their synagogue,
Zemer Hazayit, for Simchat
Torah and Shabbat services.
“We went into a protected
staircase and continued.
We moved back into the
sanctuary when all clear
was sounded, continued at a
quickened pace, interrupted
by one more siren.”
The Warshay children are
under age 10, so there is
some fear of the unknown,
Shaina said.
“Even though our
synagogue-wide luncheon
was canceled, we joined
with friends in our
apartment building and
had a wonderful afternoon
together,” Nathaniel said.
“Not what we expected or
wanted, but we had no idea
how horrible the situation
actually was until after
Shabbat ended.”

Yonaton and
Meirav Edrei
and their
children,
Jerusalem

Aaron
Poris

Nathaniel and Shaina Warshay
and their children, Efrat