FAIRFAX, Va. — Among the DMV residents who are finally getting back to the U.S. from Israel is Ellen Goldberg of Fairfax, who said the experience has left her sensitive to certain noises.
Goldberg, an owner of a bed and breakfast in Loudoun County, flew to Newark from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, before her husband drove up from Virginia to pick her up.
Flying out of the country proved to be tense as she left her daughter’s home in Jerusalem to hear sirens and rockets. She made previous attempts to try to fly out sooner.
“We did hear the booms rights above us in Jerusalem,” Goldberg recalled. “Literally, a half hour before we left, the sirens went off.”
At that point, Goldberg she began to feel comfortable since the first wave of surprise deadly attacks on Israel by Hamas.
“Throughout the week that we were there, we heard fighter jets flying overhead,” she said. “On the day of the attacks, we were woken up around 7:30 a.m. by sirens. The next two days, we were in and out of the shelter in the basement.”
By the time she left, they were able to go to stores to buy food yet staying keenly aware of nearby shelters. As someone who traveled to Israel many times, the sight of emptier streets was “very, very eerie.”
The day after being home, she noticed what kind of impact being in Israel has left. The sounds of commercial airlines above her home took her back to Israel, even for just a moment.
“I've learned the Israeli population is incredibly resilient,” Goldberg added. “I want people to understand that Israel has the right to defend itself just like the U.S. had the right to defend itself after being hit by terrorism on 9/11.”