Hundreds of Americans on Israel birthright trips are being evacuated from the Jewish state on a cruise ship to Cyprus — as fears grow over the deadly bombardments by Iran.
The Israeli navy escorted the Birthright Israel ship, with 1,500 people on board, on its ten-hour voyage Tuesday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chartered four jets to pick up the Americans and fly them to Tampa, where they can return home.
There are nearly 2,800 people on birthright trips in Israel — the vast majority being young Americans, the nonprofit Birthright Israel said.
One New Yorker on board said that tensions were mixed over the Iranian ballistic missile strikes that cut the group’s Israeli tour short.
“Some are like me and calm while others are scared,” Jaxon Zemachson, 20, of Scarsdale, told The Post.
“For me the whole experience has made for a great story to tell my kids. I have honestly been pretty calm about the whole thing, like the Israelis,” he added.
“The first missile attack was a bit scary but from there it was much calmer.”
Robbie Schwartz, a 20-year-old from the Upper West Side, said he and 10 friends were left shaken after they heard one of the explosions when they were taking shelter in Israel.
“It was a ballistic missile and it shook the building,” he said with disbelief. “It was insane.
“It almost doesn’t feel real, even when I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” the college student added.
Read the latest on the conflict between Israel and Iran
- Iran threatens US involvement will lead to ‘all-out war’ — as Tehran reportedly prepping to strike American military bases
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei warns Israel ‘the battle begins’ hours after Trump called for ‘unconditional surrender’
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismisses calls for Iran war powers resolution: ‘Getting the cart ahead of the horse’
- Iran is running out of ammo, rocket launchers as it struggles to keep up with Israel: experts
“I feel so sad this is happening – it’s a beautiful country and I wanted to stay here… It’s very hard to leave,” he said of the evacuation.
Noa Bauer, Birthright Israel’s vice president of global marketing, told The Post that the cruise ship was the safest alternative to evacuate its participants following Iran’s retaliatory attack last week.
“This was a complex and emotional operation, carried out under immense pressure, and we are proud to have brought 1,500 young adults safely to Cyprus,” Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark said in a statement.
The group, which had about 2,800 international participants in Israel when the conflict broke out, had initially evacuated the youth to protected areas.
Despite reports that the participants, many of whom are minors visiting Israel for the first time, were stranded due to the violence, Zemachson claimed that wasn’t the case as he refused to let the conflict define his trip to the Jewish state.
“I was given the opportunity to fly for free to Israel and back to the US through birthright and basically a free summer in Tel Aviv through Onward,” he said. “I had the best time.”
Melissa Rabinovich, a Staten Island mom whose 22-year-old son Ethan was on board the ship, said she was thankful for the evacuation that got the young adults to safety quickly.
“When the news alerts started coming in, it was a definite state of panic and concern,” she said. “This has been a never ending cycle since Thursday.”
After arriving in Cyprus, the American participants will be boarding four, wide-body planes bound for Florida.
Birthright Israel said it is also making travel plans for participants from all other countries.
