As the United States and Israel continue the war against Iran, a couple from West Hartford has been in Israel visiting family since before the war began.
Les Loew said he and his wife have been sleeping in the safe room of their rented apartment in Jerusalem.
“It's hard to sleep at night. We rented an Airbnb here and the Airbnb did have a safe room as part of the apartment. It's actually where the TV is,” Loew told Connecticut Public. “It’s also used as a living space.”
Loew said they have heard the sound of incoming Iranian missiles and Israeli air defenses.
“We hear the booms quite frequently,” Loew said. “At one point, this was when we were in Beit Shemesh, we saw a missile being intercepted in the sky as we were heading back to the shelter, and that was a tremendous boom as well.”
He was worried about shrapnel falling out of the sky and hurried to a safe room in his son's house.
Loew said he hopes that the threat Iran poses is eliminated, and that the Iranian people can be freed from the regime that currently leads the country.
“They’ve said ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel’ for 50 years, and they’ve been getting closer and closer to developing the capability of realizing that ambition. So when somebody says that, you believe them,” Loew said.
On Monday, he said he did not know whether his flight back to the U.S. would be canceled because of the fighting. But he said that it would be a minor concern if he needs to stay in Israel longer than expected.
“All four of my grandparents were killed in the Holocaust,” Loew said. “I never knew them, so I've lived with the idea that fanatical hatred is not something to be ignored. That's part of my DNA. I can't say that this has changed me, but I certainly think that it's a stressful time to be here.”
