BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - Teenagers at Maimonides School in Brookline are putting on a brave face, but with war breaking out in Israel, this week was not an easy one.
“It’s honestly been a very scary week. I have a lot of friends and some family in Israel,” said Deena Levin, a high school junior. “One of the scariest things is if you don’t get a text back or at night if they’re not on their phones because they’re sleeping. It can be very scary.”
Many of the students have family in Israel. Moria Danan’s older sister is studying there, and Eden Grossman’s two siblings are there, including her brother serving in the Israeli Defense Force.
“I first found out about it from my mom, and that was really scary,” Grossman said. “She was crying and I just hugged her, and I could feel her fear.”
One of the school’s staff members has a sister who was at the music festival when gunfire erupted. She is still missing.
When the Maimonides Jewish School decided to join 40 other Orthodox Jewish high schools from the United States and Canada for a prayer service.
“Right now I think that’s one of the main things we can do to help. We can’t really go over there, be there especially since we’re young,” said Eitan Baker, a high school senior. “I think right now our best bet is to help them through prayer and be hopeful.”
“Having everyone in the same space, even if it was on Zoom, it felt like a community,” Danan said. “Normally how people can feel alone, it feels almost comforting.”
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