EXCLUSIVE: ‘We hugged, kissed and watched our sons leave for war’

“The first 48 hours in Israel were a bloody nightmare, but the 24 hours since have been worse,” says a Hendon father of four exclusively to Jewish News.

He and his wife have two children stationed on the border of Israel.

The couple live in London but were in Israel visiting their eldest son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter for the festival of Succot.

They live on a yeshuv (settlement) in Israel, within 50 metres of the concrete wall snaking across the West Bank.

Their youngest son returned to London to undertake an engineering apprenticeship after volunteering to serve in the IDF as a chayal boded (lone soldier). He followed his older brother into the IDF 10 years apart and they coincidentally ended up serving in the same unit.

“Until last weekend,” says the father, “they had only served together during their miluim (annual reserve training).”

On Friday night the family were celebrating Simchat Torah with the 200 families on the yeshuv, dancing with the Torah scrolls in an open area outside the synagogue.

He says: “At 6:20am on Shabbat morning, I had thumping and banging above my head. I thought it was my young grandson making the noise, which was out-of-character, and I was about to go and tell him off for waking me up when my son appeared at our bedroom door and said if you hear a siren then immediately go to the mamud (strong room).  You have 60 seconds.  Don’t stop to collect your phones or everything else.’”

That was the father’s realisation that the thuds were rockets either hitting the ground or being intercepted by the Iron Dome protection system.

“Some thuds sounded quite close, others more distant.  We were fortunate that the sirens didn’t sound in the yeshuv. The yeshuv is dati (modern orthodox) however all the families were instructed to put their phones on. Our son received notification he would be mobilised and to await further instructions of where to go and when. Never since he was married had he been mobilised.”

As the morning went on the horror of what was happening started to unfold.

“Earlier this year, our son applied for a gun permit because he felt that due to the daily violent incidents across Israel – that are rarely reported here – he needed it to protect his family. When he told us, we expressed our discomfort about it. When we arrived this trip he was wearing a side pistol. I told him I didn’t agree with it but couldn’t have an opinion as I didn’t live there, nor had ever experienced any incidents in Israel.

“On Shabbat morning I felt strangely comforted knowing he was wearing that weapon for our protection.”

The father tells Jewish News that it felt “surreal” to be sitting in their house hearing constant aircraft activity, rockets and explosions.

“And yet the sun was shining, and the birds were chirping, and we were making kiddush albeit under strained conditions.”

The yeshuv comprises of young families and as the day progressed the majority of the men were called away to their army units.

“Our son went out on shemira (guard duty) at the yeshuv because he had his gun, however it wasn’t long before he was back as he’d received instructed of where and when to go.

“Two hours before Shabbat / Yom Tov finished we hugged, kissed, and told him how much we loved him, and watched him leave for war.”

Meanwhile back in London our younger son was desperately trying to find a flight to Israel to join his unit.

The thought of having two sons serving meant the father and wife were hoping all flights would be cancelled into Israel.

“Alas,” he says, “with my sister-in-law acting as taxi driver they bounced between Luton and Heathrow airports multiple times in 12 hours and eventually our son got an El Al flight into Israel.

“Early Sunday evening we went to Ben Gurion airport and once again hugged, kissed, and told our youngest son how much we loved him, and my brother (who has lived in Israel for nearly 40 years) drove him to his checkpoint.

“No parent should ever have to say goodbye to a child in such circumstances and we, like many others in Israel, had too twice.  It was emotionally horrendous!  We now feel we are Israeli parents.”

With their family encouraging them to return to London “for their peace of mind”, we decided to return home to the UK.

He says: “With every step we took towards the aircraft we felt like we were abandoning our sons, daughter-in-law, and the grandchildren.  Pragmatically it was the right thing to be doing, but emotionally the wrong thing! We were crying and breaking inside.

“Upon returning to London, we both found that every aircraft or helicopter we hear makes us think and feel like we are back in Israel.  Every bang we think is a rocket exploding nearby.

They say the next 24 hours back in London were even worse.

“Both boys are now operational and there are periods of total communication silence because while operational they hand in their phones so that they can’t be tracked by the enemy.

“With every minute until we hear from them our anxiety grows.  The relief experienced when we receive a WhatsApp message from them is immense, but within hours the anxiety is building again, as it is while I write this report.

“Our daughter and other son living in the UK, with their families are feeling similarly.  They worry 24/7 for their brothers.

“Please G-d we will celebrate Shabbat with them this week and be together.  A little comfort in desperate times.”