“You can be walking down the street and suddenly the sirens go off, and you have to run to a bomb shelter. Sometimes, I don’t even know where the bomb shelters are — I just follow the crowd and hope they know.”
New Yorker Joy Rosenthal revealed to The Independent how her daily life now contains periods of intense panic, after becoming trapped in Israel amid the war against Iran.
“I just want to feel safe again,” she said via video chat from an apartment in Jerusalem.
The 39-year-old, from the borough of Queens, flew into Tel Aviv three days before Operation Epic Fury, arriving on Wednesday, February 25, for family celebrations, including her nephew’s bar mitzvah and a cousin’s wedding.
She was expecting to fly back to New York City via London yesterday, March 10, but the flight to the UK capital, operated by El Al, was canceled on Sunday.
The London-New York JFK flight was with El Al partner Virgin Atlantic, but the carrier’s customer service team could only offer a full refund or a flight from Tel Aviv to NYC in late April.
Joy took the refund. “I don’t want to wait until the end of April,” she said.
However, for the time being, she’s stuck, and is having to find a way of dealing with constant warnings of impending missile and rocket strikes pinging on her cell phone at all times of day and night.
“Every time the alarm goes off, my heart starts racing. It’s petrifying. I don't film the bombs or explosions. I just run to safety,” Joy explained.
She revealed that she is staying at an apartment belonging to a neighbor of her parents, who live in Jerusalem.
Fortunately, it has a bomb shelter and a bathroom right next door in a room with no windows, which is a comparative luxury.
“In the synagogue’s bomb shelter, there was no bathroom,” revealed Joy. “You had to go up the stairs and out of the shelter.”
She described the situation she’s in as “very scary,” and is coping mentally with prayer.
“I believe in God and I just hope that nothing bad can happen to me and I’ll get out,” she said. “I believe this was meant to be, but at the same time, it’s very scary.”
Joy, who runs a website about Broadway shows, has limited options for escape.
She has registered for the U.S. Embassy evacuation list, and while some of her friends have been flown out to Athens, Greece, and told to find their own way back to America from there, Joy has been told to wait and “be patient.”
She feels that the government hasn’t given her enough guidance and “doesn’t always answer the phone.”
She revealed: “[The U.S. Government] just said, ‘They will call you and give you two hours’ notice to get to the airport. If you don't take that option, then they're not going to offer you a different one.’
“It could be anywhere, as long as it's safe.”
Traveling to Egypt by land is also a possibility, but Joy has heard horror stories about women being sexually assaulted once they’re over the border.
She said: “You can go through Egypt and pay $40, but I read somewhere that they're separating the men and the women, and that the women are being sexually assaulted. So, I do not feel comfortable doing that.”
In desperation, Joy pleaded for help on her @thebroadwaywiz Instagram profile.
Part of that desperation comes from missing her brother, Yoni, back in New York.
“He has Down syndrome and I visit him every week,” said Joy. “I haven’t seen him since I got here. I really miss him. He doesn't want to FaceTime, he doesn't talk and doesn't understand the concept.”
What will it feel like to finally get home?
“Heaven,” said Joy.
The Independent has reached out to Virgin Atlantic for comment.
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