An Adventure Abroad

While visiting family in Israel, Betty Feir and Mike Richardson found themselves seeking refuge in bomb shelters while sirens were blaring and missiles were intercepting rockets

by JENNIFER JORDAN

The Iron Dome missile battery about a mile from Betty and Mike’s granddaughter’s apartment in Modi’in, Israel.  This is the location where Mike witnessed two missiles intercepting rockets from Gaza.

For Betty Feir and Mike Richardson, a trip to Israel is commonplace. They regularly visit their daughter, Tamar Varon and her family a few times a year in Moshav Matityahu, a West Bank settlement between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. Tamar has lived in Israel for three decades, having first experienced the country during her junior year of college and deciding that she wanted to move there. She and her husband, an Orthodox rabbi, have 13 children and 8 grandchildren, with one on the way.  

With Israel closed to travel due to the COVID pandemic, Betty and Mike had not seen their family since September 2019. When the country reopened its borders to international travelers in May with some restrictions, Betty and Mike jumped at the opportunity to book a flight. As first-degree relatives of Israel citizens, they were able to enter the country with a negative PCR test and then took serology tests in Israel so that they would not have to quarantine.

When Betty and Mike arrived in Israel on May 5, they were eager to see their family, and had no idea that they would get to experience bomb shelters. There had been tension between Israel and Hamas since mid-April, but as of the trip, no violence had erupted yet. 

While in northern Israel, Betty and Mike visited a restaurant located next to a winery before a wine tasting.  

On May 11, Hamas began launching rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and Betty and Mike found themselves in a bomb shelter. “Maintaining a bomb shelter is a requirement; it is part of the building code,” Mike explains. Tamar and her family have been used to going into bomb shelters for quite some time. It’s a part of everyday life. 

Mike, Betty, and their crew enjoying a family outing at a restaurant in Israel.  Mike admits, “No rockets are going to keep us from having fun!”

“On May 11, we were having dinner with our oldest grandson and his wife at a restaurant when we noticed a lot of people coming through, past our table,” Mike relates. “Then we heard sirens. These people had been outside, and the sirens were warning everyone to seek shelter from the rockets. We ran through the kitchen to the shelter. It was a large space. There were a lot of people in there, but we weren’t squeezed like sardines. As we waited inside the shelter for about 10-15 minutes, we could hear the sirens. A little girl was upset, and Betty, who is a psychologist, comforted her. Afterward, we resumed dinner. The restaurant staff brought all of the guests little glasses of liquor.” As Mike explains, “Everything goes back to normal afterward because people are used to it; they just live with these disruptions.”

Betty and Mike always enjoy spending time with their eight great-grandchildren.

This is the way of life in Israel. National military service is required of all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, although there are religious and health exemptions. Betty and Mike have two grandsons who have served in the Israeli military. “I think that our grandsons will be in the military reserves until age 55,” Mike says. One of the grandsons showed Mike and Betty an iron dome missile battery that was about a mile from their apartment. It turns out that when Betty visited a medical clinic for respiratory congestion during their visit, the doctor who treated her works at the clinic two days per week and works at the missile battery three days per week. “He told us that he loads the missiles,” Mike comments.

There are 10 missile batteries scattered throughout Israel for the purpose of detecting and intercepting rockets. These batteries are built with technology that can determine the precise location where a rocket will land. “The night that we were at the restaurant, you could hear where the missiles were intercepting the rockets,” Mike states. “However, the military won’t waste missiles on rockets headed to open, unpopulated areas,” Mike states, “as it costs $40,000 to launch just one missile.” 

Dani, Betty and Mike’s youngest grandson, whose bar mitzvah they will be attending in Israel later this year.

May 11 was not the only night during Betty and Mike’s visit during which Hamas launched rockets. On May 12, Mike was irked that sirens blared at 1:30 a.m., disturbing his sleep. They were staying at their granddaughter’s apartment in the city of Modi’in, and sleepily went into the bomb shelter, which doubles as their great-granddaughter’s bedroom. “Each apartment has a bomb shelter, and often, it also serves as a bedroom,” Mike states. On May 13, the sirens sounded at 3:30 a.m., and everyone knew the routine. “The next night, I was walking the family dog, Muffin, at 10:15 p.m. when the sirens began. Betty called me, but I couldn’t hear her due to the sirens. I wasn’t scared.” A neighbor took a video of Israeli missiles intercepting the rockets; they look like giant stars streaming in the night sky.

Betty and Mike enjoyed the rest of their visit, but also needed to get home. Their trip was initially scheduled for two weeks, with a departure date of May 18. However, American Airlines rescheduled their flight for May 20, and then again for May 23, as the airline had cancelled all flights out of Tel-Aviv due to the violence. Betty and Mike had responsibilities in Texarkana, so they were able to move airlines and book a flight to Los Angeles on El-Al Airlines, which then enabled them to arrive at DFW on May 20. 

Betty and Mike had a wonderful time with their grandchildren, and they look forward to returning to Israel later in the year to celebrate their youngest grandson’s bar mitzvah. Betty and Mike maintain a positive perspective about their visits to Israel. The conflict did not stop them from enjoying their family and having dinners out. As Mike avers, “It wasn’t scary. It was interesting. You just deal with it. It’s part of life. The rockets made it an adventure.”