Rep. Dan Goldman and his family dodged Hamas rockets by sheltering in a stairwell — and Sen. Cory Booker was in Israel when the attacks began
Representative Dan Goldman and his wife and three children were forced to hide in the stairwell of a hotel in Israel as Hamas fired rockets over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Senator Cory Booker and his staff also escaped danger by staying in a hotel bomb shelter on Saturday as Palestinian terrorists entered the country in a surprise multi-pronged attack.
Lawmakers, their family and staff are all safe. There are concerns that Israel will not receive adequate US aid in the absence of a House Speaker following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy last week.
According to a statement from his office Sunday, Goldman (DN.Y.) and his family were in Israel for a Bar Mitzvah when Hamas launched a barrage of land, sea and air strikes on the Jewish state.
Goldman, 47, and his wife Corinne Levy hid in a hotel stairwell until early Sunday with their three children, when they fled back to New York, his spokeswoman Simone Kanter wrote.
Rep. Dan Goldman, his wife and their three children took refuge in a hotel stairwell in Israel over the weekend after a surprise attack by Hamas. Goldman and his family were in Israel for a Bar Mitzvah when the multi-pronged attack began
At least nine Americans were killed in Israel, the State Department confirmed, after Hamas launched a multi-pronged attack on the Jewish state on Saturday. Photo: Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists into the Gaza Strip on Monday, October 9
“At the very least, Congress needs to replace — and expand — Iron Dome as soon as possible,” Rep. Goldman posted to X on Sunday, referring to Israel’s largest defense system.
He added: “I hope the Republicans can get their House in order so we can pass emergency legislation to help Israel defend itself.”
Sen. Booker (DN.J.) released a video from Israel on Sunday after he and his staff reached safety.
“I’m in Israel,” the senator said in his selfie-style video from Jerusalem.
“About this time yesterday I was jogging behind me in the Old City when I got an urgent call from my chief of staff telling me to get back to the hotel as fast as I could – that Israel was under attack.”
“When I got back to the hotel I went with others to the bomb shelter or the hotel stairs. Frightened faces – there were children, old people, families, many Americans. There was a sense of fear and concern,” added Booker, 54.
Booker had to cut his trip short due to the violence. The senator arrived in Israel last Friday and had plans to stay at least until Tuesday to talk about regional economic integration.
Senator Cory Booker was also in Israel with his staff when the attack began. The Democrat had planned to stay at least until Tuesday to talk about regional economic integration, but was forced to cut short his trip amid the violence
Rep. Goldman Asks Congress to “Replace” Israel’s Main Defense System – Iron Dome
Goldman and his family and Booker and his staff were all in Israel when Hamas on Saturday morning launched its biggest attack on Israel in decades – resulting in the highest Jewish death toll since Holocaust in World War II.
Forces raided several Israeli cities as rockets rained down across the country and Hamas released videos showing them kidnapping, murdering and mutilating corpses.
The total number of dead exceeded 1,100 entering the third day of the clashes. Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians are injured and Hamas is holding at least a few hundred hostages in Gaza.
While Booker and Goldman were in Israel to escape the violence, some of their Democratic colleagues in Congress—mostly those in the progressive “caucus”—were expressing distaste for Israel launching counterattacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire.
(tagsTo Translate)dailymail