17 hours ago
As Bombs Land in Israel and Iran, New Yorkers Fear for Their Loved Ones
Israelis and Iranians have long feared open warfare between their countries, and as the bombs fell on Saturday, Americans with loved ones in both places watched from afar with anger, fear and a sense of deep foreboding.
Leili, an Iranian in New York who asked to be identified by only her first name for fear of retribution from the Iranian government, said she learned the war had begun when texts from friends and family began pouring in. Since then, she has followed the news, but has often found it too painful to bear.
'I thought, 'This is monstrous,'' she said. 'I saw images of little boys in Shiraz, which to me is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, sitting on the ground, bloodied. It has been heartbreaking.'
Many Jewish Americans have met the outbreak of war with feelings of 'frustration and helplessness,' especially after recent attacks on Jews in Washington, D.C., and Colorado, said Mitchell Silber, the executive director of the Community Security Initiative, which provides security guidance to Jewish institutions in the New York area.
'Everything is compounded after the last few weeks because of the attack in D.C. and the attack in Boulder,' he said. 'The level of anxiety in the Jewish community is about as high as I have ever seen it.'
The war began on Friday when Israel launched a surprise attack that took aim at the Iranian regime. Since then, the two countries have launched waves of attacks at each other. Israel's strikes have killed at least 128 people in Iran and injured more than 900 others, according to the country's health ministry. In Israel, at least 13 people, identified as civilians, have been killed during Iran's retaliatory barrages since Friday.
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