NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 | 39
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Ruby Bagdade, a Bloomfield Hills High School
junior, was about seven weeks into studying
abroad via the Jewish National Fund (JNF)
Impact Fellowship at the Alexander Muss High
School in Israel when terror broke out at the
hands of Hamas.
The fellowship, which was sup-
posed to last four months, pre-
pares a select group of high school
students from around the world to
take their place as future Jewish
change-makers. When their study
abroad is complete, fellows return
home as ambassadors for Israel
and the Jewish people.
When the attacks began
that Saturday morning, the stu-
dents were staying at a hotel
in Jerusalem while on a trip for
Simchat Torah. Students and staff were woken
up by sirens and immediately went down to
the bomb shelter.
“I think the sirens went off eight times
between 8 a.m. and about noon,” Bagdade
said. “We only had to be down in the shelter
for 15 minutes at a time, but we had to keep
going up and down.”
The group ended up traveling back to their
campus in Hod HaSharon, near Tel Aviv, once
things somewhat calmed down in Jerusalem.
The bus ride back was a little concerning
though, Bagdade said, as there were sirens
blaring in Tel Aviv along the way.
Lots of discussions with school and JNF offi-
cials about possible next steps took place in
the following hours and days. Everything was
up in the air.
On Tuesday, classes were canceled. That
same day, the students made care packages
that were delivered to families in southern
Israel and soldiers fighting by the Gaza border.
Bagdade estimates they packed over 1,500
care packages in just a few hours.
It was soon after that when the students
were told by JNF that plans were made for
them to go home.
“By then we already had two out of four of
our counselors drafted for reserve duty. So
most people were anticipating it,” Badgade
said. “I think it was Wednesday we flew to
Rome, stayed overnight, then we flew to
Boston, where we all flew on our respective
flights home.” Before leaving Israel, the stu-
dents had to go down to the bomb shelter
under the airport due to sirens going off again.
Those few days in Israel after the attacks
were a whirlwind for the students. The sirens
on that first day understandably freaked every-
one out, Bagdade said, and while the threat
of missiles is unfortunately not too uncommon
in Israel, it was quickly apparent this time was
different.
“When we looked on social media, we
could see Israel was declaring a state of war.
Everyone was getting pretty ner-
vous at that point,” she said. “And
the next few days were very stress-
ful because we weren’t sure if we
were going to get out and when
the next siren would go off.”
Bagdade says she was in con-
stant contact with her parents
during that time.
“I would text my parents any-
time a siren would go off. It was
obviously stressful, and I know
my parents were up late at night,
checking the phone, seeing if anything had
happened,” she recalled.
There have been discussions to see if there
could be any type of continuation of the fel-
lowship, Bagdade says, but a decision has yet
to be made. As of now, she is returning to her
home school, Bloomfield Hills High School.
Bagdade returned home on the Thursday
night after the war began. The high school
junior says there was definitely a sense of
relief in being home, and while her time in
Israel being cut short was disappointing, the
gravity of the situation outweighs all.
“Reintegrating is definitely hard because of
everything I know I’m missing, but my thoughts
and prayers are always going to be with Israel,”
Bagdade said. “Everyone knows someone in
Israel affected by this, and we’re all praying it
ends soon and as few people as possible get
hurt.”
Bagdade and the other JNF fellows started
a fundraiser with all proceeds going to help
the Israeli soldiers and civilians affected by
the brutal Hamas attacks. In just a few days, it
raised over $100,000.
“Even though it’s an unfortunate turn of
events, I’m glad this fellowship has strength-
ened my connection with Israel, and I hope
myself and my peers will continue to support
Israel even when it’s not in conflict like this,’
Bagdade said. “Even though our time was cut
short, the connections I’ve made will last a life-
time. I’m very grateful for the experience.”
Metro Detroit JNF Fellow
Returns Home After Terror
in Israel
continued on page 40
Ashdod and spent the
morning of Oct. 7 in a
shelter. She said they could
feel the house shake from
nearby explosions, and at
one point, she saw heavy
smoke in the sky due to the
defense of the Iron Dome.
Although the family was
observing Shabbat, some-
one turned on the news.
As the day progressed,
Rapoport says they
watched as her friend’s
uncles, one by one, were
called up for duty.
“It was a hectic experi-
ence. I played a lot with
the kids and tried to stay
away from hearing about
what was happening and
focus on being there for
the children,” she says.
As soon as the holiday
ended in Israel, Rapoport
called a family member
who wasn’t observant. She
knew her parents would
be unreachable because it
was still Simchat Torah at
home. The message of her
safety was related to her
parents, who wanted her
to leave Israel but were
respectful of her decision
to stay.
Smith was in Jerusalem
with relatives when the
war erupted. Their rabbi
advised congregants to
come to shul for Simchat
Torah. As Smith walked
to the synagogue with her
young cousins, sirens alert-
ed them to take cover.
She saw a group of
Israeli mothers running
with their children into
an apartment building
and followed them, and
everyone crammed into the
bomb shelter.
When it was safe to
leave, she and the children
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
Ruby Bagdade