Running to Bomb Shelters and Other ‘Everyday Situations’ for Israelis

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Wearing high heels or flats to work is a small thing most women don’t give too much thought to, but when seconds matter while running to a bomb shelter, a simple decision over footwear becomes critical.

Most women in Israel don’t wear heels because, when the sirens sound, Israelis have only about 30 seconds to make it to a bomb shelter, Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, explains.

Yael Eckstein stands with Israel Defense Forces soldiers. (Arik Shraga/International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)

“Just the other day, four days ago, we woke up at 5 a.m. to a siren sounding,” said Eckstein, who lives in Israel with her husband and four children. “We had 90 seconds to wake up our four kids and get them to our shelter in time. Thank God we have a shelter in our home, but even 90 seconds to wake up the kids, get them down to the shelter, we didn’t have time to bring our puppy, and so my kids were crying that the puppy was outside, and I had to make the decision of keeping my kids safe or going out and getting the puppy and risking our lives.”

For people living in Israel, these are “everyday situations,” she says.

When Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, Eckstein had just landed in the U.S. with three of her children for a trip working with American churches to mark the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. At home, her husband, son, and other family members were huddled in the bomb shelter, and it’s at moments like those, according to Eckstein, that “prayers are our strongest weapon.”

Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system was successful in intercepting most of Iran’s missiles on Tuesday, and no life was lost in Israel as a result of the strike, though a Palestinian was killed in the West Bank from shrapnel from Iran’s attack.

Through her work with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Eckstein has been a part of placing thousands of bomb shelters across Israel, and specifically around school bus stops.

“We realize children are very, very vulnerable when they’re waiting for the bus stop or getting off at a bus stop,” said Eckstein, adding that the fellowship has “placed bomb shelters on every single school bus stop from 0 to 9 [kilometers] from the northern border that have saved dozens, if not hundreds, of lives of children.”