El Al Airlines is going to do something it has not done since 1982 – operate a flight on the Sabbath. The measure is going to be carried out in an effort to facilitate the return of Israeli army reservists, who have been vital in the ongoing war with Hamas. Reserve soldiers, currently stranded abroad, will be flown back free of charge on Boeing 787 aircraft from New York and Bangkok, with the expenses covered by El Al and major US financial institutions. The departure from El Al’s long-standing policy not to fly on Saturday received halachic approval under the Jewish legal principle of pikuach nefesh, which is a concept of prioritizing any life-saving effort.
Israel now has 360,000 reserve soldiers, the largest round-up since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, 50 years ago. We spoke with the Naveh family, who are American immigrants to Israel that have been living here for a while. Yossi, a St. Louis native finally answered repeated calls from his army commander at 2 a.m. on Shabbat when he learned of the outbreak of war. Naveh was on a family vacation in New York during the holiday of Sukkot where he and his wife, Tamar, were introducing their first baby to her parents. Tamar Naveh says her husband was on a flight to Israel to join the fight within hours. Tamar tells the Israel Daily News that her husband reports his presence has lifted morale for the entire unit.
In the meantime, with three cancellations and limited flight availability to Israel, the other half of the Neveh’s family remains behind in the U.S.. Tamar got choked up while sharing she feels guilty for being far away and is bouncing back and forth between where she wishes to be. She later sent me a photo of her husband smiling on FaceTime with their infant on the other side of the call.
Chaim Silber, an American from Monsey, New York found himself stopping to reflect on his experience for the first time during our interview. I could tell he was realizing the impact of the destruction during our call. When speaking of the murdered mothers, he broke down.
Silber spent his adult life in Israel, but just months ago decided to move to New York for a new job with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. He’s spent years in reserve duty and always took training when available.
He says he felt a strong and Holy need to come back to this country to defend it.
Silber was walking to synagogue for the Simchat Torah/Shabbat service when a non-Jewish neighbor in the street apologized to him for what was happening in Israel. After thirty minutes of trying unsuccessfully to focus on prayer, Silber returned home and got himself up to speed on the news. He told his wife he had to depart.
He passionately told me tonight by phone quote “I can’t sit by when they murdered men, women and children. Took our kids to Gaza, threatened our very existence “It’s not just an obligation. We have the honor and the privilege and the command to defend our people, our home, our civilians.”
The Nevut lone soldier organization supported Silber and got him on a flight. He joined hoards of others and says He reports he was inspired at John F. Kennedy International airport when seeing it full of other Israeli soldiers and volunteers.
Silber’s wife and 2-year-old baby are still in New York. He says it was super hard on her. Her 2nd birthday was yesterday.
El Al, and other airlines, have established dedicated lines to help Israelis secure spots on special flights to the Holy Land. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has conducted an operation to airlift hundreds of off-duty troops from various European countries and bring them home.
Silber left us with something deep. He says “Our blood runs deep and with all the division we have seen in the last year…this might be a higher power bringing us together,” “I believe this could be the type of war that solves all the other wars.”
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