Early Friday morning, his hotel phone rang.
Three days after telling the Jewish Light he planned to remain in Israel despite escalating warnings, St. Louis businessman Rich Wolkowitz suddenly found himself packing quickly and heading to an airport.
“I was told I had been selected and asked if I wanted to go,” Wolkowitz said in a phone interview shortly before boarding a government-assisted evacuation flight.
“It’s been a long journey to get here,” he said.
For days, Americans in Israel had been registering with government programs and monitoring alerts, waiting to see whether evacuation options would materialize.
“We registered with the State Department platforms and filled out the forms,” Wolkowitz said. “At that point it was mostly waiting.”
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The departure comes as the U.S. government begins organizing ways to help Americans leave the region after commercial air travel collapsed during the conflict between Israel and Iran.
The State Department has said it is facilitating charter flights and other transportation options for American citizens across several Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Officials have also encouraged Americans abroad to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, known as STEP, which allows the government to send alerts and contact U.S. citizens directly during emergencies.
Earlier this week, the department urged Americans across more than a dozen countries in the region to leave “via commercial means” because of serious safety risks — guidance that created confusion as airports closed and commercial flights were canceled.
According to reporting by The Times of Israel, U.S. officials have been in contact with hundreds of Americans seeking assistance leaving Israel and have begun securing charter aircraft and other evacuation options.
A scramble for options
Wolkowitz had been in Israel as part of a Jewish National Fund mission that included several participants from St. Louis when the conflict escalated and commercial air travel shut down.
For several days, Americans across Israel were trying to determine how — or whether — they could leave the country.
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program provides security alerts and allows the State Department to reach Americans abroad during crises.
But with flights grounded and regional airspace restrictions in place, many travelers were left searching for alternatives.
Some Americans explored private evacuation options or overland routes out of the country, Wolkowitz said. Others chose to remain in place while waiting for clearer guidance.
Wolkowitz said he chose not to leave through neighboring countries and instead waited for a U.S. evacuation option.
“It got kind of chaotic,” he said.
Americans registered for evacuation were warned they might receive little notice if space became available.
“We were told if we got the call we’d have about two hours to get to the airport,” Wolkowitz said.
Calling Missouri
As the uncertainty stretched on, Wolkowitz began reaching out to officials back home.
He contacted offices representing both Democrats and Republicans in Missouri’s congressional delegation, including the offices of Congressman Wesley Bell, Congresswoman Ann Wagner and Senator Eric Schmidt.
“They were incredibly responsive,” he said. “Every office I called was trying to help.”
According to Wolkowitz, the offices worked together to elevate the situation with federal officials as evacuation efforts developed.
“They embraced not only the fact there were three Missourians there,” he said, “but they said, ‘Let’s try and help your entire delegation.’”
Ultimately, he said, Schmidt’s office helped coordinate communication with the State Department as evacuation options began to take shape.
The call
For several days, Americans registered with evacuation programs were told they might receive little notice if space became available.
That warning proved accurate.
Early Friday morning, Wolkowitz received the call telling him he had been selected for a government-assisted evacuation flight.
He had only a short time to gather his belongings and make his way to the airport.
Not everyone in his group received the same notification.
Some members of the delegation remain in Israel and are exploring other evacuation options or waiting for additional flights to become available.
For Wolkowitz, the focus now is simply getting home.
“It’s been quite a journey,” he said.
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