NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 | 37

was created. We were very 
inspired … And then war broke 
out Shabbat morning.
”
When the Blumenkehls heard 
the sirens, they first assumed 
it was a kitchen fire, until hotel 
staff directed the hotel guests 
into the bomb shelter. 
After 10 minutes, they exit-
ed the shelter and the family 
tried to get ready for shul, but 
the siren kept going off anew. 
Finally, a staff member turned 
on the TV in the lobby.
“That’s when we saw that war 
had begun,
” Sima said, and their 
beautiful relaxing holiday in the 
Holy Land came to a screeching 
halt.
The Blumenkehls had a 
return flight booked on Sunday 
night, but unlike the Levins, 
they were booked on Delta, 
which canceled all its flights 
from Israel.
“We really had to get back,
” 
Sima shared. “Mark is a doc-
tor and had tons of patients 
scheduled, but every available 
flight was either overbooked or 
canceled.
”
The Blumenkehls spent 
Tuesday at the extremely 

crowded airport trying to find a 
flight. At one point, they waited 
in line for two and a half hours 
for a flight that was traveling to 
Rome, only to be told that there 
were no more seats available. 
They were then booked on a 
flight to Dubai that was delayed 
three times until it was finally 
canceled at 11 p.m. 
Wednesday morning, they 
went back to the airport to try 
again.
“If we thought the lines were 
long on Tuesday, it was even 
worse on Wednesday. There 
were thousands of panicking 
people there trying to get out,
” 
said Sima. “It took us four hours 
just to get to the ticket counter.
”
While they were in line, 
the siren went off again, and 
a loudspeaker announcement 
repeatedly directed everyone to 
get down on the floor and cover 
their heads.
“It was really scary,
” said 
Sima. “We could hear the bar-
rage of rockets as we lay on the 
floor, all these loud noises over-
head, kids were crying, people 
were terrified.
”
When an available flight 

through Dubai popped up on 
Leah’s phone, Sima and Mark 
urged the young couple to grab 
it. Thankfully, Mark and Sima 
found a flight to Cyprus soon 
afterward — and made the 
flight.
“It ended up being a pleas-
ant experience,
” said Sima. 
Approximately 2,000 Israelis 
had fled to Cyprus, and they 
had booked up all the hotels 
near the airport, but the 
Blumenkehls were able to find 
a hotel some 45 minutes away 
that was very nice. “They even 
had water in a glass with a slice 
of lemon on it and a straw, 
ready and waiting for us!”
The next day Mark and Sima 
had a connection to Cairo, 
which made them feel anxious, 
but they were grateful they did 
not encounter any antisemitism. 
Before the flight to Cyprus, 
an Israeli woman with two little 
kids whose husband had been 
called up to serve shared that 
she was eager to get away. 
“
Are you also leaving Israel 
because you want to escape the 
war?” she asked Sima.
“I felt terrible,
” Sima said. “I 

explained that Mark’s a doctor; 
he has to get back to see his 
patients, but I felt so guilty. I 
felt so aware that the Israelis are 
really bearing the brunt of this 
war, their men are out there, 
their kids are on the front lines, 
they’re dealing with the barrage 
of rockets, running to the shel-
ters — all alone. I felt so bad 
heading back to my cushy home 
while Israelis have to suffer so 
much from the effects of war.
”
The Blumenkehls arrived in 
New Jersey on Friday, spent 
Shabbat with their daughter 
and son-in-law who had arrived 
the day before, and returned 
to Detroit on Sunday, Oct. 15. 
Only then, Sima was able to 
reflect on her experience. 
“The contrast in Jerusalem 
was stark … From singing, 
dancing and lots of rejoicing on 
the streets during Sukkot … to 
the then-suddenly empty, quiet 
streets; schools, restaurants and 
stores closed,
” Sima said. 
“Like everyone else, I’m in a 
lot of emotional pain about the 
situation in Israel. It doesn’t feel 
as good as it usually does to be 
home.
” 

LEFT: Fallon and Michael Levin and their children with Inez Garfield and Adam Garfield-Turner take a family selfie in the crowded Old City of 
Jerusalem a few days before the war broke out. 
RIGHT: Mark and Sima Blumenkehl at Yoni Netanyahu’s grave.

