For three northeastern Nevada families- the Zohars of Elko; the Khourys of Spring Creek and the Copelans of West Wendover; the war that erupted this week between Israel and Gaza is more than just news, it is about family.
All three have children, siblings or cousins in harms way in the Holy Land and all three are coping by keeping an eye on the television and computer, ear on the phone and their families in their prayers.
Hostilities flared earlier this week with rockets garages from the Hamas controlled Gaza and a heavy Israeli response by land sea and air. As of press time Hamas has launched about 400 missiles targeted at Israeli cities as far north as Haifa and as far west as Jerusalem. Israel has responded with over 500 strikes of its own. No deaths and only slight property damage have been reported from the Hamas attacks while in Gaza close to 70 people have reported to have been killed and extensive damage done to the strips infrastructure.
Well within Hamas’ missile range is the Israeli city of Netanya where both the Zohars and the Copelans each have a daughter living.
“Shoshana is fine,” said Baruch Zohar Wednesday. “We keep in touch by phone and computer. She is working and yes she is keeping safe.”
A former editor of the Elko Independent and 2008 graduate of Elko High School, Shoshana Zohar emigrated to Israel last year at the age of 24 shortly after graduating from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Her father, Baruch, is a native born Israeli who moved to Elko in the early 1980’s after marrying mother Pamela.
Shoshana lives less than a couple of miles away from fellow Nevadan, Anna Copelan Mowszowski, 30, who with husband Russell have two sons Oz two and a half and Ram a month and a half.
Daughter of Advocate publishers Howard and Corinne Copelan Anna emigrated in 2002 after she graduated from West Wendover High School. She graduated from Jerusalem’s Hebrew University in 2006 and then entered the Israeli Army for a two year stint.
According to Mowszowski shortly before a missile was sighted coming to Netanya Tuesday night she was awakened by the siren and moved herself and her two children to a bomb resistant safe room in her apartment.
The reason for both women’s relative serenity under the unprecedented missile attack is the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Developed by Israel and partially funded by the US the system destroys, what was once thought to be impossible, low flying short range missile.
First deployed in the 2012 during a previous missile war with Gaza, Iron Dome has almost single handily take terror missiles aimed solely at civilian populations centers out of the equation.
In addition to Anna, the Copelans have two sons also in Israel. The oldest, Sam, a 2005 graduate for West Wendover High School is a captain in the Israeli Army reserves and was recently called up to secure the border on the Golan Heights. His younger brother Arieh a 2010 graduate of WWHS just finished his mandatory service in the IDF. While the younger Copelan was on the front line in the 2012 almost war in Gaza this time around Arieh is between postings from the standing army and the reserves and will probably be forced to sit this conflict out as a civilian.
Across the border in the West Bank city of Bethlehem is the home of Elko’s Khoury family. Arab Christians, the Khourys left their homes for Nevada in the 1960’s and 1970’s shortly before and shortly after the 1967 Six Day War when Israel conquered the disputed West Bank.
No member of the Khoury family would comment on this story.
But like the Zohars and the Copelans the Khourys can only watch and worry as their family abroad is once again in harm’s way.
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