President Joe Biden visits Florida and Georgia to survey damage from Hurricane Helene, and members of the local Jewish community react to the latest increase of tensions in the Middle East.
Biden travels to Florida and Georgia to survey damage from Hurricane Helene one week after it made landfall
President Joe Biden traveled to Florida and Georgia on Thursday to receive updates from state and local officials and survey damage from Hurricane Helene.
The trip comes one week to the day since the powerful storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane and swept across multiple Southeast states.
Biden on Thursday first landed in Tallahassee before embarking on a 45-minute aerial tour of storm-ravaged areas via helicopter that ended in Perry. Then traveling to the Keaton Beach area, the president was joined by local officials and Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott for an on-the-ground tour and briefing that included a conversation with a couple that lost their home in the hurricane and are living out of an RV.
The president headed to Valdosta, Ga., next.
The Biden administration has sought to tout its response to the storm, with the president this week telling reporters his “top priority” was ensuring impacted communities get the support they need as quickly as possible.
Biden, the White House says, has reached out to more than 200 officials in Florida since the storm made landfall and has pledged that the federal government will cover the cost of debris removal and emergency protective measures in the state for 90 days. In Georgia, the federal government will pay for such response efforts for the first three months of the process, according to the White House.
Biden’s visit comes one day after his stop in North Carolina, where he took part in an aerial tour of the storm-stricken western part of the state and declared to residents that the “nation has your back.” He announced he was deploying 1,000 active-duty troops to aid in recovery efforts in the state. He also visited South Carolina.
As of Thursday morning, the death toll from Hurricane Helene surpassed 180 with hundreds more still missing. Many in impacted states still lack power, running water and cellphone service.
More than 4,800 federal personnel have been dispatched to assist with efforts on the ground across impacted states, according to the White House.
FEMA has shipped over 8.5 million meals, 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to local communities.
Head of Gotlib Jewish Academy loses loved one after Iran attack in Jaffa
Tensions in the Middle East continue to rise nearly a year after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.
Iran launched a series of missile attacks against Israel on Tuesday, escalating the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East — one day before the start of the Jewish New Year.
The impacts are being felt in Florida and across the world.
Jewish leaders at many local places of worship say they have added security and law enforcement presence to help community members feel safe while celebrating High Holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
While the fighting is overseas, members of the Central Florida Jewish community say they still feel the weight of war as members cope with uncertainty for their loved ones living in the Middle East.
Chana Ben-Abraham, head of Gotlib Jewish Academy, said she stays closely informed on what’s happening in the Middle East, as red alarms ping on her phone, alerting her to incoming rocket attacks in Israel.
An attack Tuesday night at a light rail station in Jaffa affected a family member as Inbar Segev, the mother of a 9-month-old, was shot and killed, Ben-Abraham said.
“In her 30s, married to a wonderful man that served in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) as well,” she said. “They have a 9-month-old child that was with her when she was killed.”
The child was taken to the hospital, according to Ben-Abraham, who said her family held a funeral for the mother on Wednesday.
“They’ll be able to gather in some way or another as a family,” Ben-Abraham said. “I don’t even know what their plans can be. I can’t even imagine.”
Ben-Abraham — who not only is Jewish, but also Iranian — said the constant tension has her constantly on edge.
“Whenever anything is happening in the world, we feel it, and we are impacted by some way,” she said.
Ben-Abraham said her grandparents fled Iran in the 1960s, when she said times got challenging for Jews in the country. However, she still has family in Israel and Iran.