Israelis rush back from U.S. to join the fighting

Will Yoruba abroad do the same if need arise?

By Daniel Edelson, New York

Canadian-born entrepreneur Noy Leyb pays thousands of dollars for a seat on El Al after other airlines canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Yotam Avrahami needs all of 10 minutes to decide to leave his wife, baby and business and rush back to join comrades

Israelis were rushing to find a way to fly from the U.S. back home to join the fighting against Hamas despite airlines canceling their scheduled flights.

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Noy Leyb, opened a WhatsApp group to help IDF reservists around the world find a way home. He himself managed to get on an El Al flight overnight, having paid $2500, an exceptionally high price. “My dad told me I was nuts to come but there is no question in my mind,” he said. “I am a Zionist and there is no way that my friends would be there and I would not, no matter the financial cost.”

He is a Canadian-born, reservist in the paratroopers and a tech entrepreneur who founded his own company in New York. He came to Israel on his own to serve in the military and his family followed and settled in the north. His brother who lives in Tel Aviv had already joined his unit.
“I’ve not slept,” he says. “I keep asking myself what I am doing here. I see pictures of friends gearing up and asking for a ride to their base and am going crazy. I made a million calls and purchased a ticket on United Airlines, but that flight was canceled. Then I found one on Delta and that flight was canceled as well.”
Leyb finally found a seat on the El Al flight to Tel Aviv. “I paid a crazy price but that is no problem”