There are people living in Israel who are from the Central Pennsylvania region. Thanks to phone calls, email and Skype, we have a chance to see how they’re living in the midst of chaos.
Marlene and Yaakov Tewner live 5 miles from the Gaza Strip. When they receive warnings, they take cover.
Marlene says, “We have to go to our safe room in the apartment and stay there for a few moments and usually we’ll hear a loud boom afterwards, and we know either it landed or iron dome got it.”
Israel’s Iron Dome intercepts rockets from the Gaza Strip. Although the Dauphin County natives feel protected by the Israeli Forces, they faced fear this week when a rocket hit a field near where they were driving.
Marlene says, “We had AC on in the car and we didn’t hear the siren and we saw everyone pulling over so we pulled over and by the time we pulled over, we saw a big puff of black smoke 100 yards from us.”
But the Tewners say they don’t live in fear. Yaakov says, “We live carefully, cautiously, we are careful what we do but we don’t let it disrupt our lives more than it has to.”
Leah Sacks Hagelberg grew up in Dauphin County. She says, “Life in Israel goes on because we are used to this.”
Leah moved to Jerusalem and became an Israeli citizen seven years ago. Leah says it’s time for the conflict to end.
She says, “For the world to realize Hamas is the ones who are hurting their own people and hurting us and for them to be out of being in control of Gaza beacuse until then, I don’t know if anything will change.”