NEW ORLEANS — The last 24 hours in the Middle East have been stressful for one New Orleans family whose 18-year-old son, Donovan Ahlquist, is living in Israel.
Donovan's father, Aaron Ahlquist, said as Iran lit up the Jerusalem sky Sunday, his son was capturing the missiles from his balcony in Tel Aviv.
“It’s been a hard six months. This is just kind of the latest trauma that’s been experienced," Aaron Ahlquist said, “Information was limited so nobody was sure when things would stop and there were over 300 missiles fired from Iran at Israel and so it was a long night. I don’t think he got any sleep.”
Ahlquist said Donovan moved to Israel in August for a gap year after graduating high school from Willow. His son chose to stay after the attacks on October 7th.
“As a parent we wanted to pull him home to keep him safe, but he’s a kid of New Orleans who understands what community trauma is like and he asked to stay to be with the people he had shared that experience with and could process with them," Ahlquist said.
Although the fighting is nearly 7,000 miles away, it's touching countless lives close to home. For months, local demonstrations have taken place in Jefferson and Orleans parishes.
In January, 17-year-old Palestinian-American Tawfiq Abdeljabbar of Gretna was reportedly killed by Israeli forces.
As many hope for peace, Ahlquist also prays for his son's safe return but said he's proud of him for choosing to support his community during this difficult time.
"My sincerest hope is that this is the end of this because escalation doesn't benefit anybody," Ahlquist said.
Jewish Voice for Peace of New Orleans released a statement to WWL Louisiana on Sunday:
"On April 1, Israel used American made fighter jets to fire missiles at Iran’s embassy in Syria, killing 7 people—including a high ranking Iranian official; this unprovoked attack was not an isolated incident.
Yesterday, Iran responded with a limited strike, targeting only military infrastructure—reportedly designed to minimize the risk of casualties. Advanced notice was given to regional actors.
By contrast, Israel’s apartheid regime routinely launches deliberately lethal surprise attacks against targets well inside Syria and Lebanon, with impunity.
Attacks on diplomatic installations are clear violations of national sovereignty. Israel’s attack on the Iranian embassy typifies Israeli military aggression in the region and the Israeli state’s wanton disregard for others’ territorial integrity. Israel is directly responsible for the escalation of regional tensions."
The Jewish Federation of New Orleans also released a statement on Saturday evening.
"The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans condemns Iran's attacks against Israel—the first by a sovereign nation since Saddam Hussein launched scud missiles at Israel in 1991—in the strongest possible terms.
Our communities stand in total solidarity with Israel and the IDF as they work to defend themselves from these brazen attacks, and pray for their safety.
We are thankful that the United States and our allies are standing strong with Israel and helping to defend her against the Iranian threat."
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