SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — As the war in Israel continues to escalate, many people in Metro Atlanta’s Jewish community are sharing their concerns about the safety of their family and friends living there.
On Monday, Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke with Georgia families who have loved ones in the war zone.
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Seiden spoke with Meirab and Amit Mayer, of Alpharetta, who recounted some of the tough and heartbreaking conversations they’ve shared with their 20-year-old daughter.
Their daughter enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces in January and now finds herself in the middle of this horrific and historic war.
“She’s terrified,” said her mother, Meirab, who was born in Israel and served in the IDF. “What we’ve experienced over the last 48 hours is heartbreaking.”
The Mayer family asked Channel 2 Action News to conceal their loved ones’ identity because they fear for their safety.
After graduating from high school in 2021, Mayer’s eldest daughter moved to Israel where she was doing volunteer work until she joined the country’s army earlier this year.
A military spokesperson announced that Israel had drafted a record 300,000 reservists in response to a multi-front Hamas attack from Gaza.
The Mayer family says their daughter is helping to prepare many of those men and women for battle.
“She is doing this in a place that has been, and still is, under missile attack,” said Amit Mayer. “She’s doing it in a place where some of the survivors of the diabolical act of the Hamas have fled to on foot.”
In Sandy Springs, the Brown family is extremely concerned about the deadly war unfolding because their 18-year-old son, Ian, is currently studying abroad in Jerusalem with other American students.
“Our son called us at 3 a.m. on Saturday morning,” said Nanci Brown during a Zoom interview with Channel 2 Action News. “We didn’t know what was going on at that time when he texted us, ‘I’m okay.’”
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“It’s helplessness,” added Brown when asked what it’s been like to watch from Atlanta. “It’s stress to a level I don’t think I’ve experienced before.”
Brown says she and her husband, Adam, have been staying in close contact with their son who is currently staying in a secured facility.
“They’re having constant meeting as to what to do for security and what to do when to go in the bunkers when it’s necessary,” said Brown.
As of Monday, it was still unclear if Brown’s son will continue his studies in Israel or another country.
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