Long Islanders wait for word on missing loved ones in Israel
Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, an Israeli American soldier missing since a Hamas surprise attack on the Gaza border, after a news conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Maya Alleruzzo
Orly Someck of Great Neck hasn't heard from her 25-year-old cousin, Leah Turjman, since she left for a popular all-night music festival in rural southern Israel on Saturday.
And she fears the worst after Hamas militants opened fire at the festival, killing at least 260 and taking at least 100 others hostage — part of a weekend siege targeting Israeli citizens.
"It's a very scary time," said Someck, who has dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship. "I reach out [to my family] daily and unfortunately there has been no contact and no information. I know that they're busy recovering many bodies and we don't know if she's one of the hostages either."
President Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday that at least 14 Americans were among the hundreds of civilians killed in the attack. That death toll could rise, with about 20 unaccounted-for Americans, according to U.S. officials.
Newsday has confirmed that at least three individuals with connections to Long Island are among those kidnapped or presumed missing in Israel, including Turjman.
Among those also kidnapped or presumed missing, with Long Island ties, is a recent graduate of the Solomon Schechter School of Long Island in Williston Park who serves in the Israeli Army, Rabbi Josh Dorsch of the Merrick Jewish Center told his congregation on Monday night. Their family wishes them to remain unidentified for safety reasons.
Also waiting desperately for news is Ruby Chen, whose son, Itay Chen, a U.S.-Israeli dual citizen, was serving in the Israeli Defense Force on the Gaza border and has not been seen or heard from since Hamas launched its terror attack. Ruby Chen was raised in Brooklyn and has siblings who still live on Long Island.
"The last time that we heard from him was Saturday morning, where he said that they were under attack," Ruby Chen said Tuesday morning at a news conference in Tel Aviv with the families of three other Israelis who are still missing. " … The formal indication that we received from the IDF is that he is defined as missing in action."
Chen, who lives in Netanya, Israel, pleaded with Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to "do what they can to make this end for us as soon as possible to make our family whole again."
Meanwhile, Nassau Legis. Mazi Melesa Pilip, who served in the Israel Defense Force's Paratroopers Brigade, said she's worried for her entire family, including her parents and siblings, who still live in Israel. Pilip's cousins serve in the Israeli Army while her sister is a police officer.
"I don't know how safe they are, to be honest. I'm afraid it's going to get even worse," said Pilip, a Great Neck Republican. "… My entire family is just trying to survive really but there is so much that is unknown. They don't know what to expect. What will happen in another hour or what's going to happen in another two minutes? The not knowing is killing them."
With AP
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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