By David Lyons – South Florida Sun Sentinel
Nearly 1,500 Jewish Americans — including Florida residents visiting Israel — were evacuated Tuesday aboard a cruise ship to Cyprus, and were scheduled to board flights home that were arranged by the state of Florida.
Birthright Israel, a cultural and educational program mainly for young Jewish adults, said in a statement that the visitors boarded the Crown Iris, an Israeli cruise vessel, for a 13-hour voyage to Larnaca, Cyprus, in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship sailed under the protection of the Israeli Navy.
The organization said it is in the process of “repatriating nearly 2,800 international participants — the majority of whom are young adults from the United States — who have been stranded in Israel due to the escalating conflict with Iran.”
The group aboard the ship was scheduled to be met in Cyprus by four wide-bodied jetliners chartered by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is attending the 55th Paris International Air Show in France on a state-sponsored commercial trip.
The flights from Cyprus were to land in Tampa, according to Birthright Israel, but the organization did not offer any timetable or other details. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Stranded amid air war
Joy Prevor, vice president of projects for the Broward Jewish Federation, confirmed to the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the organization thus far has verified that more than 150 Broward residents were in Israel either on Birthright Israel tours or for other reasons when missiles started to fly between Israel and Iran last week.
Three people in the latter category include a past president of the Broward federation, as well as two current members of the organization’s board. “They’re just stuck,” she said.
“We have been working with the Israeli consulate, which has been in touch with the governor’s office,” Prevor said.
That’s how Florida’s role in the evacuation plan emerged.
“We are hopeful anyone who needs to get out will get out, but it is being done in a staged fashion,” Prevor said. “I just saw a video of the boat to Cyprus. It’s difficult because they were in such a stressful situation.”