Santa Rosa resident Michael Schloss and his wife flew to Israel last month for the birth of their granddaughter, family visits, exploration “and apparently to witness history in the making.”
Three days after Israel and the United States attacked Iran, Schloss, 71, and Julie Simkovitz, 66, find themselves unable to return home as regional airports are shut down amid a wave of retaliation across the Middle East.
For now they’re staying in Ramat Gan, a municipality bordering the metropolitan city of Tel Aviv. A 10-hour time difference separates the couple from California and Schloss, a retiree of the food-manufacturing industry, communicated with The Press Democrat via email Sunday, March 1, into Monday, March 2.
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He called the experience “a wild ride here” in an email just before 11 p.m. PST Sunday. He initially described a calm atmosphere with fully stocked markets still open for business before a shift in tone hours later.
“As I am writing this, the sirens went off and (we) took a break to get to the safe area,” Schloss said in a follow-up email about 8 a.m. PST Monday. “Yes, with most sirens we hear booms, sometimes very loud booms which shake our building.”
Israel said it had worked with the U.S. for months to plan the attacks, which began Saturday morning. The U.S. military said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled since 1989, was killed. Israel said that it also killed dozens of other top Iranian military officials. Iran has since retaliated, firing on Israel and other Middle Eastern nations. At least 555 people have died, including four American soldiers.
Circulated footage over the weekend showed damage and people sheltering. Schloss noted one image showed men, women, children and a dog sheltering in a Ramat Gan light rail station he’s used regularly.
Global support and opposition arose in the days since the initial attack, but at least one North Bay resident told The Press Democrat that a regime change has been a long time coming.
Katrin Mikhael said she moved to California from Iran in 1995 but still has friends in Iran’s capital city of Tehran. For years, they’ve shared with her reports of fear and violence that often goes unreported and even covered up by those in charge. Communications, Mikhael said, are monitored and friends are cautious about what they tell her for fear of being arrested, or worse.
She cried after Saturday’s violence erupted and prayed something good would come out of it.
“It is like freeing prisoners; they are happy,” Mikhael said. “It feels like help has finally arrived to free them from the prison that the regime has created for them.”
It all happened during Schloss’ second trip to Israel while Simkovitz had been their numerous times over the past 56 years.
On social media last month, Schloss posted whimsical images of his trip leading up to Saturday, when he uploaded a video from his balcony showing Ramat Gan with the blaring sound of alarms in the background.
The trip was supposed to last until March 7 before news reports and chatter on Friday prompted the couple to push up their return home.
They got to Ben Gurion Airport about 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Israeli time, and were waiting to check in luggage when alarms and sirens went off around 8 a.m. and they began moving to a shelter area. They hadn’t reached the shelter before they were turned away and told all flights had been canceled and the airport was closed.
Schloss and Simkovitz returned to their apartment, which is equipped with a safe room. These rooms, or “Mamads,” are required in residential buildings and vary in design. Schloss said he’s been in one resembling a large walk-in closet and has three folding chairs and shelves for food and water. Their daughter has a couch and desk in her room.
Protocols are in place for when attacks take place and local residents have refrained from panicking even with the sound of missiles intercepting rockets, which Schloss identified as the booms in his Monday morning email.
“The sounds are very similar to firework displays,” he said.
The situation continues to evolve. Schloss and Simkovitz don’t know when they’ll be allowed to return home and have extended their apartment rental for now.
“We’re reasonably prepared for some time since, going in, we knew this was a possibility,” Schloss said.
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com.
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