Longwood Couple Stranded in Israel Returns Home With U.S. Embassy Help

Ken and Joy Davis traveled to Jerusalem to help their daughter move into a new home. They came home to Longwood navigating bomb shelters, Iron Dome intercepts, and a flight network shut down by Iranian missile strikes.

The retired Seminole County couple arrived in Israel last Thursday and found themselves stranded almost immediately after Iran launched retaliatory strikes over the weekend, forcing airlines to cancel flights and close regional airspace. With commercial departure no longer possible, the U.S. Embassy stepped in to help the Davises secure a route home.

The couple described spending time in bomb shelters roughly a dozen times over the course of their stay as sirens warned of incoming Iranian missiles over Jerusalem. Ken Davis said the experience of hearing the Iron Dome intercept a threat is unmistakable. "The effects that you get, basically is like a boom. You know when it has intercepted an incoming drone or missile when you hear the boom," he said.

Joy Davis said the defense system gave her a sense of security even as the strikes continued. "I just feel very protected by the Iron Dome," she said. "It hasn't made me feel unsafe."

The disruption unfolded during the Jewish holiday of Purim, and the Davises said the streets of Jerusalem reflected a city pressing forward despite the danger. Ken Davis described walking through the city as celebrations continued around them. "We're going through the holiday of Purim, and it is just so remarkable," he said. "Joy and I have been walking around the streets of here in Jerusalem, and the parties are going on, and the people are just, you know, just living their lives."

Joy Davis echoed that observation about how Jerusalemites responded each time sirens sounded: "everybody finds a building, and then after the siren, everybody's back on the streets."

The couple said they travel to Israel frequently, and this trip was prompted specifically by their daughter's relocation to a new home in Jerusalem. The source text described nearly a week of unc — the remainder of that characterization was not available, though the timeline from their Thursday arrival through the weekend strikes and subsequent flight cancellations suggests several days of uncertainty before the embassy assistance cleared a path home.

The situation drew comparisons to October 2023, when Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida chartered evacuation flights for Americans stranded in Israel following the October 7 terror attacks. DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis were on the tarmac in Tampa when the first of those charter planes landed. WESH reported it contacted the governor's office to ask whether similar state assistance is being considered for Floridians currently stuck in Israel and other parts of the Middle East affected by Iran's strikes; no response from the governor's office had been recorded as of the time of reporting.

The Davises shared their story publicly after returning to Seminole County, appearing on Good Day Orlando on FOX 35 and sitting down with News 6 for their first on-camera interview since landing back in Florida.