ST. LOUIS — Congregants of a Creve Coeur synagogue are praying for the safe return of loved ones stuck in Israel, as flights are canceled amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
The repeat attacks by both countries have left at least 15 members of B’nai Amoona synagogue overseas.
“Birthright participants are hanging out in bomb shelters,” Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham said. “Which is perhaps not what they had in mind when they went on their trip. But it's also a real part of…being in Israel.”
Now, Abraham says local synagogues are working with state officials to coordinate alternate routes home. Last week, about 1,500 Americans in Israel arrived to Cyprus on an Israeli cruise ship, returning to the U.S. on flights arranged by the state of Florida.
“I think that the most likely scenario would be, you know, sort of getting them out on a boat,” Abraham said. “The other hope, of course, is that in the next couple of weeks, maybe this part of the war ends and the skies reopen.”
But after U.S. forces attacked three Iranian military sites Saturday, newly scheduled flights were once again canceled.
“The situation is changing by the hour,” Abraham said early Sunday. “I don’t think anything has changed in the sense of trying to help people leave.”