When Iran launched an attack against Israel on Saturday, April 13, many people all over the world, from Baltimore to Ashkelon, were caught by surprise.
The attack, which consisted of over 300 drones and missiles, according to the Associated Press, was launched in retaliation to an Israeli airstrike on April 1 that destroyed an Iranian embassy complex in Syria and killed two Iranian generals and five officers.
While most of the missiles and drones were struck down by Israel’s allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Jordan, one girl was seriously wounded and the Nevatim air base located in the Negev desert sustained light damage in the attack.
This was the first time that Iran has directly attacked Israel.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Iran has no plans to attack further unless Israel attacks it back. Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi stated that Israel plans to respond to the attacks from Iran and will reveal details at a later date, while world leaders such as U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not escalate the conflict any further.
As the future of the conflict between Israel and Iran remains unclear, Baltimoreans who have been impacted shared their experience.
Rabbi John Franken, formerly of Temple Adas Shalom in Havre de Grace, made aliyah just over a month ago. He described learning of the incoming attack as being “quite scary,” noting that Home Front Command put restrictions on large gatherings and in-person educational activities in order to minimize potential damage.
“I actually went to sleep, knowing that an attack was underway and fully expecting to be awakened a couple hours later to evacuate to a shelter,” he recalled. “As it happened, I slept soundly and was amazed to awaken at around 7 a.m. and learn that the attack had been thwarted.”
Franken said that while it was a relief to learn that no one had been killed and that most of the drones and missiles were shot down before reaching Israel, he still worries about what might happen next.
“Although it’s a tremendous relief, I am deeply worried about an escalation,” he said.
Outside of Israel, Jewish organizations like the Baltimore Jewish Council and Baltimore Zionist District put out their own statements condemning the attack.
“The ironclad U.S.-Israel partnership was critical to repelling the attack. Stopping hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles, which were intended to inflict mass casualties and destruction across Israel, is nothing short of a miracle. It is now more important than ever for the United States to support Israel and its people,” BJC’s statement read. It went on to thank Biden for his dedication to Israel, stating, “Israel’s enemies are looking for signs of weakness in America’s support, and we call on our elected leaders to stand unified and strong as Israel faces great threats from Iran and its proxies.”
Following the attack, local law enforcement in Baltimore also reached out to several synagogues and organizations to offer increased security, though no threats have been reported thus far.
“We saw a bump in the presence of Baltimore County and Baltimore City police over the weekend [of April 13] around synagogues and other institutions, and we heard from our partners to reassure us that there were no specific threats that they saw,” said Howard Libit, BJC’s executive director, adding, “enhanced awareness of security is likely to continue through the Passover holiday.”
Guy and Merav Marcus are a couple who have lived in Baltimore’s Israeli sister city, Ashkelon, for nearly their entire lives. Their son is currently a Diller Teen Fellow. Guy Marcus said that being warned about rocket attacks while living in Israel is a fairly regular occurrence, but the attack coming from Iran was much more threatening.
“We’ve been experiencing rocket attacks from the Gaza area for the past 16 years, at least, but the rockets from there aren’t very sophisticated and they’re not super dangerous. We have safe rooms, and we have the Iron Dome,” he said. “But Iran has always been a bigger threat. They have bigger missiles and a proper army.”
He said that while it was not nearly as scary as Oct. 7 was, because they had time to prepare, escalation is still a looming threat and he expects Israel to respond.
“This is something new; the equation has changed for us,” Guy Marcus added. “We try to continue with our daily lives anyway.”
