On Tuesday morning, the country woke up to what could become a new war in the Middle East between Iran and Israel ballistic missiles started raining down on Tel Aviv.
And Bay Area people with connections to both countries watched the latest developments with trepidation.
When the rockets started falling, people were ordered to immediately go to a bomb shelter. That included student Julia Kelley, who has friends in the Bay Area and spoke to KPIX while sheltering underground.
“We go into the shelter and the sirens are going off all the time, with just a short break in between,” she said. “We also heard a lot of explosions outside. And it was really scary, so we sat in this shelter for over an hour.”
More than 200 ballistic missiles were launched by Iran, most of which were destroyed by Israeli defenses or landed without serious damage. But what was the purpose of the barrage? Dr. Abbas Milani, head of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford, said the Iranian regime is trying to show strength after Israel’s recent attack on many Hezbollah leaders with exploding communications equipment.
“So it’s, I think, a very dangerous moment,” he said. “I call it a kind of ‘dance of deterrence.'”
Dr. Milani said he is not surprised if local Iranians are concerned about their relatives back home. He said they have a good reason for that.
“If Israel attacks, the leaders of the Iranian regime will not be killed. They are already in holes deep in the mountains,” he said. “It is civilians who will be killed. This regime absolutely does not care, just as Hamas absolutely does not care, just as Hezbollah absolutely does not care, how many innocent civilians are killed.”
Mohammad Zahir Faizi works for a South Bay nonprofit that helps immigrants from Middle Eastern countries like Iran. He said there is a lot of fear right now.
“It’s very sad when you see these wars happening,” Faizi said. “And you sleep and wake up to see this war about to start. So they have their families over there and they think about that too.”
But the Jewish community is also concerned that a larger war could make them a target in the US as well. Rafael Brinner and Molly Jozer, of the Jewish Community Federation, are advising local Jewish organizations on safety measures.
They were already preparing for the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“Everyone is just really looking for community,” Jozer said. “And we’re trying to find ourselves, kind of lost in this tapestry right now with what’s going on and our connections to Israel and our connection to the Bay Area and what that means for a lot of people going into this one-year anniversary.”
“This is something we grew up with,” Brinner said. “This is something that’s in the back of our minds, even though we haven’t personally experienced it, it’s our parents or grandparents who have had to deal with this in their lives. So in that context, the community that we educate and train understands that background, understands that this is a moment where the risks and dangers have increased. And that’s why we need this training.”
Surprisingly, Dr. Milani that the last thing the Iranian regime wants is an all-out war with Israel.
He said they were simply trying to show strength, although Israel has already vowed to retaliate for the rocket attack. Even more than hatred, nothing fuels the fires of war like fear. And right now it feels like there’s enough of it to go around.
