Stranded in Tel Aviv: Tourists ride out war from hotel shelters

(JNS) — At the Orchid Hotel in Tel Aviv, the bomb shelter on level minus one is filled largely with foreign voices, with little Hebrew heard. The space is occupied by tourists who arrived for short visits, but now find themselves stranded in Israel, with no clear departure date.

Jacqueline Sanders, a headhunter from the Netherlands, arrived on Feb. 23 for what was meant to be a two-week Purim visit with a close friend and her 23-year-old son.

“We are from the Jewish community in Holland and we come to Israel regularly. I knew it could possibly happen and that I could get stuck, but I had no he...