Manny Yekutiel, an LGBTQ activist and the owner of Manny’s at 3092 16th Street in San Francisco, traveled to Israel, in early October for his father’s 80th birthday party and a niece’s bat mitzvah. Just three days after his arrival, Hamas on October 7 launched a surprise attack during a season of Jewish holidays. The attack was timed to coincide with the Jewish Sabbath.
Yekutiel posted a video shortly thereafter, shared to KPIX, where he said that there were “missiles being intercepted above me. I saw a site a few miles away that had been hit by a missile. I mean, I could see the actual plume of smoke coming out of it, so this is very real, it’s not isolated to a small part of Israel. My cousin texted me last night and a missile had hit a place three blocks away in Tel Aviv.”
He added, “Missiles and the rocket barrages are something unfortunately that seems to happen with some regularity, but the fact that there was a ground assault and people have been kidnapped and taken from their homes, and their homes have been invaded, it just adds a very chilling feeling to what’s been going on and I pray for a de-escalation. The terrorists have targeted the airport, and a lot of flights are not coming in, and so I have a flight. But it’s not for another 10 days, and I don’t know; I’m scared. I’m nervous that I might not be able to get out.”
In a text to the San Francisco Bay Times on October 11 he wrote: “I arrived in Israel to see my family last week. I woke up on Saturday morning to the sounds of boom overhead. The area that I was staying was targeted by missiles seven times that day. The next day I decided to head to Tel Aviv to join the volunteer effort, collecting donations, packaging, and sending donated goods to families in the south and soldiers on the front lines. It’s been very inspiring to see how many people have come together, community assisting effort also harrowing to hear missiles being intercepted overhead and running in and out of bomb shelters.”
He also shared three videos with the Bay Times then, which are now at Instagram and Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/mryb4hep
As the videos show, Yekutiel daily traveled to a large gathering site with numerous volunteers, who were assigned specific tasks. He at first just helped to fold and dispose of boxes, but with his leadership and social skills evident, he became “Water Boy,” helping to hand out bottles of water to those in need.
He and the other volunteers were under constant threat, however. In one video, he is seen having to run for cover after an air raid siren sounded. As he told KPIX, “It’s terrible and it’s scary and it’s hard to put into words what it feels like to watch a crowded synagogue have to run under tables and to see a father cover his children with his prayer shawl to keep them protected. It sounds dramatic and it was dramatic, and it was overwhelming. After it all finished, I went outside and I cried because I could feel the heat of the moment and the fear, and I could see the fear in my people’s eyes.”
As he and other Americans attempted to leave Israel, they received an email from the U.S. State Department that read, in part: “We plan to offer transit options beginning on Friday, October 13, but it will take some period of time to schedule everyone seeking to depart. If you choose to take this departure assistance, transportation will be by air to Athens or Frankfurt, or sea from Haifa to Cyprus. You will not be able to choose your destination—we will assign you to the next available flight or ship. You should be prepared to depart within 8–12 hours of receiving notice of your booking.”
Yekutiel did manage to get out, a few days later on a commercial flight he booked and involving a 19-hour journey. He is now back in San Francisco, but remains concerned—particularly about his cousin, Stav. Stav is also gay and owns a café. As of this writing, he is preparing for likely deployment.
A candlelight vigil will be held in front of Manny’s on Thursday, October 19, from 7–8:30 pm, for victims of the war between Israel and Hamas. Manny Yekutiel of Manny’s at 3092 16th Street in San Francisco returned from Israel just days ago, as reported in this issue.
About the vigil, he and his team wrote: “A little over a week ago Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on a group of Israeli cities and towns, killing roughly 1,500 people and kidnapping 200. In response, war has been declared in the region and Israel is engaged in a military operation to destroy Hamas. Roughly 2,400 Palestinians have been killed and almost a million displaced.
This conflict’s deep tragedy lies in all of the innocent people who are caught between it and whose lives have been lost as a result.
We’d like to center those people in this candlelight vigil outside Manny’s.”
https://tinyurl.com/3xmpwnrz
Published on October 19, 2023
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