Squirrel Hill mother fearful for her children living in Israel amidst war

PITTSBURGH — A mother in Squirrel Hill is fearful for her children’s safety as they navigate living in Israel amidst the war.

Brother and sister Sarah and Yehuda Ertel, who are also Squirrel Hill natives, are dual citizens living in Israel. Their mother, Chana Luba Ertel said she didn’t have her phone on her last weekend, as part of a Jewish holiday tradition. Her husband broke the news to her that Israel declared war.

She said it was one of the only times she’s seen her husband cry.

“He cried for his only boy. My son is a lone soldier. He volunteered to go and be part of the Israeli defense force,” Ertel said.

Yehuda is in the special forces anti-terrorism unit, in the northern area of the country. Sarah is in the South, about 15 miles from Gaza.

“Thank God our fences did not get breached,” Sarah told Cara Sapida over Zoom today. “We had pretty immediate response of IDF and police forces.”

Sarah does equine therapy at a rehab center in a protected village that is home to hundreds of people. She talked about what was happening beyond her walls while sheltering.

“Terrorists running through the streets, taking hostages off the streets, driving them into Gaza, they were shooting up homes, shooting people and this is a four-minute drive away from me. I take the bus to do grocery shopping there,” Sarah said.

Six concertgoers made it to Sarah’s village.

“A group of six girls incredibly managed to get away and were found walking down the road towards us and someone picked them up and brought them to us,” Sarah said. “They were crying, they had scratches, bruises, cuts on their arms and legs, probably from running through brush. Literally running for their lives.”

Sarah is continuing to take care of the horses and will remain in Israel, where she says her Israeli brothers and sisters are caring for each other. She says she is praying for peace and safety amid terrifying times.

“We have bomb shelters adjacent to every two apartments in the complex, we have half a minute to get to a shelter every time we hear a siren,” Sarah said. “In places like Jerusalem and central Israel, you have about four minutes and here we have 30 seconds.”

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