36 | NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 J
N

W

hen families flew 
to Israel for their 
highly anticipated 
Sukkot vacation, some ended 
up fearing for their lives and 
scrambling for flights back 
home amid war and chaos. Now 
that they are back on American 
soil and safe from the rocket 
fire, they have mixed feelings 
about it. 
Michael and Fallon Levin 
of Southfield flew to Israel on 
Sept. 26 with their kids, Fallon’s 
mother, Inez Garfield, and 
brother Adam Garfield-Turner. 
“Everything was nice and 
peaceful,
” Fallon said. “The 
streets were very crowded; traf-
fic was bumper to bumper, lots 
of hustle and bustle. I’ve never 
seen Jerusalem so packed and 
hopping in my life.
” 
Their calm, enjoyable holiday 
changed dramatically on Oct. 7 
when the family was woken to 
the sound of sirens. 
“It sounded like a bunch of 
ambulance sirens, getting loud-
er and louder, nonstop,
” Fallon 
said. “My heart was racing. We 
knew something was wrong, 
but we had no idea what. We 
didn’t even know what to do. 
Finally, someone told us to find 
the nearest bomb shelter.
” 
Their rented apartment was 
old and didn’t have a shelter, 
so the Levins crowded into the 
kitchen, put a blanket on the 
floor far away from the win-
dows and spent all of Shabbat 
morning sitting there, not 
knowing what was happening 
and trying to calm their terri-
fied kids, aged 9, 7 and 2.
“Each time the siren went 
off there were loud booms 
one after the other, as the Iron 
Dome intercepted them. It was 
so loud, the entire apartment 
shook,
” said Fallon. 
As Americans, the Levins 
kept two days of the holiday, 

and they only found out the 
full extent of the catastrophe on 
Sunday night when they turned 
on their phones. 
“We were horrified, devas-
tated and shaking,
” Fallon said. 
“But we were also very con-
flicted about leaving. We were 
grateful to get away from the 
sirens because we wanted our 
kids to feel safe. On the other 
hand, we felt torn because we 
felt like we were leaving our 
people when they needed us 
most.
” 
The Levins packed their 
suitcases and headed to the 
airport on Monday evening. 
Anticipating heavy crowds, the 
family arrived four and a half 
hours before their scheduled 
departure and still only just 
made their flight. 
“The airport was an absolute 
balagan (chaos),
” Fallon said. 

“But we were very fortunate. 
All the other airlines had been 
canceled or delayed — except El 
Al. Ours was the only flight that 
was on time.
” 
The flight was packed with 
lots of tourists, families, crying 
babies and traumatized kids. 
Even back on American soil, 
the Levin kids are still talking 
about those “scary sirens,
” and 
some have developed residual 
anxiety, often asking about 
what’s going on in Israel. 
“I’m grateful to be home, but 
I feel very mixed emotions,
” 
Fallon said. “I feel frozen and 
haven’t fully unpacked. Israel is 
constantly on my mind and I’m 
always checking on my brother 
and in-laws who live there. 
It’s hard to be in Michigan; it 
doesn’t feel quite right. I want 
to be back in Israel even though 
I’m thankful to be away. I am 

praying that all the hostages 
return back to their families, 
that the soldiers stay safe on the 
frontlines, that those who are 
injured have a speedy recovery 
and that this war ends soon, 
God willing.
” 

SEARCHING FOR 
A FLIGHT HOME
Dr. Mark and Sima Blumenkehl 
of Southfield are another cou-
ple who spent Sukkot in Israel, 
staying at the Plaza Hotel in 
Jerusalem together with their 
daughter Leah, son-in-law 
Nesanel and baby granddaugh-
ter, who live in New Jersey. 
Of the holiday, Sima said, 
“Yom tov was beautiful … 
During the week, we went to 
Har Hertzel, Palmach and Irgun 
museums that told the history 
of our people who fought for 
the land and how the country 

Caught in a War

OUR COMMUNITY

Many Detroit families were in Israel for Sukkot 
when Hamas attacked.

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Large crowds 
in Jerusalem 
during Sukkot

