More than 200,000 American citizens who have made Israel their home are experiencing firsthand the challenges of living through an active conflict with Iran, sharing stories of resilience mixed with weariness as they adapt to a reality filled with air raid sirens and shelter runs.
Among them is Yehiel Levin, a former US Army serviceman originally from Santa Monica, California, who relocated to Israel three years ago following multiple deployments to Iraq and other combat areas. Despite battling post-traumatic stress disorder, Levin finds the current situation manageable due to his military background.
“I spent so much time living in chaos in Iraq, the situation here doesn’t really bother me,” Levin shared with The Media Line.
However, the veteran expressed mixed feelings about witnessing the United States and Israel collaborating militarily against Iran.
“I understand that Iran is definitely evil and has to be destroyed, and the leadership has to completely change,” explained Levin, who shares a Jerusalem home with his partner and her daughter. “At the same time, as somebody who was sent to fight in Iraq, I’m really, really, really against the US getting involved in anything that doesn’t directly relate to it. I’m kind of torn when it comes to that. But it’s pretty cool to watch both countries work hand in hand.”
The daily reality of wartime life poses particular challenges for American families with children, who must balance professional responsibilities with the unpredictable demands of seeking shelter during attacks.
Ariela Lerman, a recently divorced mother of two young children, has found her routine completely disrupted by the conflict. Both children now refuse to leave her side, with her five-and-a-half-year-old daughter Ruthie describing how each siren makes her heart race so intensely it feels like it might burst from her chest.
Managing the children primarily alone, Lerman relies on supportive neighbors who assist in quickly moving her family to their building’s basement shelter when alerts sound. Despite this community support, the psychological and practical burden continues to mount.
“If this continues for another week or so, I’m probably gonna completely lose it,” said Lerman, who moved to Jerusalem from Baltimore and works from home. “I work basically from home and thankfully have an amazing boss who understands that I am a single mom and do not have the capacity to work when they’re both at home … One of the days when we had like seven sirens during the day, I barely got anything done when I really needed to get things done. And the other day, I was just so exhausted because I barely got any sleep.”
To cope with the situation, Lerman has increased her children’s screen time significantly and invested heavily in art materials and activities to keep them occupied indoors. Even routine errands have become complicated, with one recent store trip nearly derailed when her daughter became hysterical at the prospect of separation, requiring her father’s intervention to allow Lerman to leave briefly.
Laura Cornfield faces different challenges as a single mother raising three teenagers. While her older children still want to maintain social connections, this creates constant anxiety about their whereabouts during air raid warnings.
“Every time … you hear a boom, you’re concerned. If you’re not with them, you’re even more concerned,” Cornfield explained.
Her family’s designated safe room doubles as her teenage son’s bedroom, making it an less-than-ideal gathering space for her daughters during alerts. Educational continuity has also suffered, with remote learning proving difficult for students accustomed to classroom interaction.
“The challenge is having them join their Zoom classes, because it’s very difficult for kids to be interested in Zoom when they’re used to interpersonal interactions in a classroom,” Cornfield told The Media Line. “Being in front of a computer to study for more than two hours a day is very difficult for a generation of students who suffer from ADHD.”
Some Americans have chosen to remain in Israel despite the escalating situation. Lauren Hamrick, a Christian country music artist, made Tel Aviv her home during the High Holidays after spending the summer there, deliberately staying despite the ongoing conflict.
“I can’t explain it,” Hamrick told The Media Line. “Israel is the kind of place that chooses you. No one ends up here by accident.”
She elaborated on her decision: “Everything that had been happening here, politically, socially, spiritually, I didn’t want to miss a second of it, and so I chose to uproot my life and to come to Israel and to add to the conversation as an observer, as an ally, as just a witness to this great history.”
While Hamrick didn’t anticipate the current escalation following the previous Iran conflict in June 2025, she maintains her faith provides protection, though she acknowledges the physical and emotional drain of the situation.
“When you go to the shelter every 30 minutes to an hour, it’s completely exhausting,” Hamrick observed. “You start to lose a sense of self. You forget your own first name, what you look like, and whether and when you can shower. The experience certainly is taxing on the human spirit.”
Despite the hardships, Hamrick draws strength from observing how Israeli citizens handle wartime conditions based on their previous experiences.
“They show you how to do war,” Hamrick said. “I’m just in this posture of learning how to fight, and I am learning it from the best fighters, the blessed fighters. And I think that the whole thing has given me a lot of pause and made me feel very introspective and very prayerful.”
As an American witnessing the cooperation between her birth country and adopted home, Hamrick expressed strong support for the collaborative military effort.
“Trump is in real time debunking the lie that America first means America only,” Hamrick told The Media Line. “I tell people that America’s war is Israel’s war and Israel’s war is America’s war … Trump carried out that preemptive strike, knowing that Iran was preparing to strike first… I commend the president’s bravery.”
Looking toward the future, Hamrick believes the current military action will ultimately prove beneficial for regional security.
“God bless America, God bless Israel,” she concluded. “I’m proud to have upgraded my life to live in this splinter of land in the eastern Mediterranean, watching it all with my own two eyes.”
