STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Staten Island business owner and his wife recently visited Israel, contributing to humanitarian aid efforts for soldiers engaged in the ongoing war with Hamas.
Henry Salmon and his wife, Linda, were in Israel from Dec. 5 to Dec. 21 as part of a long-planned family vacation, and said they were surprised by how ordinary things seemed in the city of Ra’anana, where their son, Matthew, has lived for the past four years with his wife and four children.
Life there is “as normal as it can be,” Salmon said, pointing to the rush-hour traffic he and his wife found themselves in as they traveled from Ben Gurion Airport to their son’s suburban home.
Most businesses, stores and restaurants remain open, he said, though some were closed, because owners have been called into military service in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. Yet the war, sparked by the October Hamas-led attack on Israel, remains on everyone’s mind amid high tensions, he said.
The couple was briefly rushed into an airport shelter upon arrival, as sirens blared, he said. But after about five minutes, he recalled that they walked out to experience a cautious normality for the duration of their stay.
“Everybody is focused on what’s happening in the war,” Salmon said. “Everybody knows somebody who’s been called into service, and many know soldiers who’ve already died.”
News of a potential withdrawal of Israeli soldiers came Tuesday, according to CNN, which quoted the Hamas-controlled health ministry’s report that 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack. Israeli victims totaled more than 2,200 in December 2023, including civilians and soldiers, the Israeli Army has reported.
Salmon, a native Staten Islander and a real estate appraiser and president of Equity Valuation Associates in Castleton Corners, volunteered for three days on a farm, along with his wife, Linda, picking and packing produce for soldiers and the needy.
Linda Salmon and her…
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