KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Kansas Citians are in Israel, both searching for hope as they hold their loved ones close.
“The whole country pulls together in times of crises,” Rabbi Steve Burnstein said.
He’s called Israel home for almost 30 years after growing up in Overland Park. Now, he’s the spiritual leader at Congregation Birkat Shalom in Kibbutz Gezer, which is between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
“We never stop praying, we never stop hoping for peace. But it feels even farther away than it did Friday night,” he said.
His presence is hope in a time of tragedy.
“We have food and clothing drives going on. We are providing transportation and housing for people who have been evacuated from communities right next to the border with Gaza. We are collecting toys for children,” he said.
Burnstein’s wife and children are in Israel, too.
His son just finished serving in the army, but his daughter is still serving as a physical trainer for combat soldiers.
“It helps us, the busier we are. Because when we stop, then we’re forced to think about what’s actually happening,” he said.
Burnstein’s home in Israel was supposed to be another Kansas Citian’s opportunity.
Yotam Haber is an Associate Professor of Music Composition at UMKC Conservatory of Music. He arrived in Jerusalem on Oct. 2 with his wife and children to study and compose music at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance for the semester.
“The way that we live in Kansas City is that I only speak in Hebrew with our kids,” Haber said.
Less than a week after arriving, unprecedented attacks on Israel erupted, leaving Haber and his wife to improvise.
“When the sirens first rang out that morning, Saturday morning, we told our daughters it was a storm, just like in Kansas City,” he said. “When we heard the explosions, the Iron Dome explosions, we told them that’s thunder.”
He said he and his wife are not ready for their daughters to know why they’re taking shelter in random buildings and hearing explosions.
“Some of the eight-year-old's and six-year-old's already know and use words like war and missiles.”
He’ll tell them about this painful history one day, so they can bring hope to a better future.
“That’s a part of them as well,” Haber said. “One day they should know the full story, I think when you’re six and eight you don’t need to know it.”
