Rockland county family back home after being stranded in Israel
News 12 heard exclusively from a Blauvelt family who has now returned home after being stuck in Israel for several days because of the war with Iran.
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The Karzhevsky family of Blauvelt spoke to News 12 on Tuesday about the moment their vacation plans with their in-laws changed when missile warning sirens rang out in Tel Aviv, Israel a day before they were supposed to leave.
“We were in bed on Saturday morning sleeping,” said Evan Karzhevsky. “At 8:30 a.m., the sirens started. It scared us out of our wits, and we ran to the shelter.”
It was the first time the family had ever experienced something like that.
“We had never been through it before, obviously,” said Greg Karzhevsky. “We were scrambling both physically and emotionally.”
Photos shared with News 12 shows their point of view inside their hotel’s bomb shelter in Tel Aviv. Bed sheets and cots were spread out for guests. During that time and the days that followed, Israel’s airspace was closed, which left the Karzhevsky’s and their in-laws unable to leave the country like they had originally planned.
Evan Karzhevsky reached out to Rep. Mike Lawler for help. The whole family was eventually able to get a flight out of Israel last Friday. Other photos shared with News 12 show U.S. Air Force planes lined up at the airport.
They all arrived safely at Newark Liberty International Airport and took a photo together smiling after being deboarded.
“Mike did what he does and got us out,” Evan said. “We’re super fortunate to have gotten out when we did because there are a lot of people who are still stuck there.”
Karzhevsky described what the moment felt like when they returned to the United States.
“The whole experience, especially Friday and everything that happened, it was just surreal,” he said. “It was just so great to be home and so relieved.”
Lawler said his office is continuing to work to help other Americans who are still stranded in the region.
“We have a number of people who are still stranded there, and we are working with the State Department to get them on flights — not just in Israel, but across the Middle East,” Lawler said.
U.S. citizens who are traveling abroad are encouraged to enroll their trips with the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which provides alerts and assistance during emergency situations.
