By Jessica Easthope
Most people would run away from a war zone, but Elana Kirschbaum is running toward one.
“I’m literally doing everything that I can,” Kirschbaum said. “My place is not to sit here on my couch and watch news and post on social media, I want to be there, I want to be in the trenches, I want to be hands-on.”
Everything in her Rego Park apartment has a price tag on it. She’s selling it all ahead of her one-way flight to Israel on Oct. 30. Kirschbaum holds dual citizenship, and her only son David is a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.
“This is war,” Kirschbaum said. “I’m scared for the Jewish people in Israel. I’m scared for my son, of course. All I do is pray and hope and wait for the text and wait for a possible phone call just so I get a ‘good morning’ from him so I know that he’s OK.”
David was born in Israel and raised in Queens. He moved back after high school graduation with a clear goal of serving his country.
“He was still a little boy,” Kirschbaum said. “And now he’s a man. And he’s in a fighting unit. And I am his number one fan.”
A teacher by trade, Kirschbaum was always planning to move, but in the last week and a half those plans have been expedited.
With David back on the front lines, Kirschbaum is putting her worldly possessions up for sale, because she says the future of her homeland is at stake.
“My son is already living there,” Kirschbaum said. “That’s my bonus in making this leap of faith, true faith. And I know Hashem, God is going to guide me in whichever direction that I am meant to be in this life.”