For the last three nights in a row, ever since Israel’s military and the Mossad began the ongoing strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, Maddy Eisenberg and Dave Heilbron—two Canadian tourists in the Holy Land—have been spending hours sheltering in a safe zone beneath a beachfront hotel in Tel Aviv.
The two only met this week, while participating in a government-sponsored trip for Jewish LGBTQ leaders who were meant to attend Tel Aviv’s famous Pride parade. That was supposed to take place on June 13—but the parade was hurriedly cancelled, and their itinerary curtailed, as news of the initial strikes broke. Since then, every time air raid sirens go off, or their phones alert them to incoming Iranian rockets and missiles, they rush down to the bomb shelter and ride out the anxious hours, together with other tourists and Israelis alike.
While the death toll of Israelis killed and wounded continues to climb, and first responders try to dig out those still missing from direct hits on Bat Yam and other Israeli cities, the Pride delegates—who are required to stay within 100 metres of the hotel—are now also worrying about how they will get home, since all flights in and out of the country have been cancelled until further notice.
Maddy Eisenberg, a broadcaster and communications strategist in Ottawa, and Dave Heilbron, a human resources executive and Jewish leader now living in the Netherlands, join North Star podcast host Ellin Bessner to describe what they’re seeing on the ground.
Transcript
Ellin Bessner: During a lull in the nightly rocket attacks from Iran these past few nights, Canadian tourist Maddy Eisenberg took the opportunity to grab some fresh air outside her Tel Aviv beachfront hotel and recorded what she imagines must have been an Israeli Air Force fighter heading off on another mission, either to intercept incoming Iranian missiles or perhaps maybe to bomb more Iranian military installations nearly 2,000 kilometers away. For the past four days, Eisenberg of Ottawa has been hunkering down in her hotel along with a delegation of other prominent Jewish Canadians from the LGBTQ community. Eisenberg is a well-known former radio personality on CFRA and now a communications strategist, and she came to Israel last week on the invitation of the country’s Foreign Ministry for a fact-finding mission geared for the queer community to coincide with Tel Aviv’s famous Pride Parade. But it got canceled after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities early Friday morning, and ever since, Iran’s been retaliating with hundreds of missiles that have now killed at least 13 people and wounded hundreds of others at the time I’m recording this show on Sunday evening.
Eisenberg and other members of the delegation have spent most nights since then being jolted from their sleep by air raid sirens and the red alerts on their phones and the hotel’s loudspeakers, and rushing to safety on the second level of a nearby fortified parking garage. And Dave Heilbron has had a similar harrowing past few days. The former Toronto native came to Israel for Pride from the Netherlands with his husband and a group of 12 gay Dutch men. Like Eisenberg, after touring the Nova Festival and meeting with Israeli Jewish and Arab queer leaders, Heilbron had been so looking forward to joining the Pride parade along with 60,000 expected revelers, many of whom have found themselves ostracized since October 7th by Queer Pride groups who support Palestinians and have shunned Jews and others who consider themselves Zionists.
Dave Heilbron: I think that being here as well has indicated not only from the average Israeli Jewish person but also from the Palestinians and Arabs with who I’ve spoken on this trip: They’ve had it with everything that’s happening through Iran. So at the end of the day, I think this is the right measure.
Ellin Bessner: I’m Ellin Bessner, and this is what Jewish Canada sounds like for Monday, June 16, 2025. Welcome to North Star, the flagship news podcast of the Canadian Jewish News, made possible in part thanks to the generous support of the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation.
As the Iranian missiles and some Houthi ones started falling across Israel Friday night, and drones, too, Canadians Dave Heilbron and Maddy Eisenberg had been preparing to sit down with their group for a closing Shabbat dinner in their Tel Aviv hotel. Earlier, they’d met with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, who with his wife, became the first ever to march in a Pride event in Jerusalem just the week before.
Last year, Tel Aviv Pride was scaled down out of respect for the hostages. This year, the American trans activist Caitlyn Jenner was going to be the grand marshal. But now, since the government has ordered all public gatherings canceled while the war with Iran is on, Eisenberg and Heilbron have been popping in and out of the fortified parking garage all weekend, trying not to panic, and helping others who are actually having a more difficult time while the bombs fall on central Israel. It sounded pretty calm in this video Heilbron sent to me, showing how their companions in the shelter that night included some of the Israeli entertainment industry’s most famous celebrities who were speakers to the LGBTQ delegates, like Itzik Cohen. He’s the actor who plays Captain Ayub on Fauda and was also in the Beauty Queen of Jerusalem. I reached Heilbron and Eisenberg in their hotel on Saturday as they kept an ear peeled for the next round of sirens.
Maddy Eisenberg: Thank you so much for having us here.
Ellin Bessner: First of all, our listeners won’t be able to hear, but our viewers will see that they’re in a hotel room in Tel Aviv. You can’t go anywhere. That’s the rules. Let’s walk back. So you got there. Caitlyn Jenner arrived. It was going to be a big Pride parade.
Dave Heilbron: I met her personally. I can send you a picture if you like.
Ellin Bessner: How did that go?
Dave Heilbron: Because we were not allowed to go that far. The Intercontinental Hotel is just across the street from our hotel. So I just basically, with a group of friends, walked to the hotel to have a drink at the Intercontinental Hotel. There’s nobody. So it’s completely out. So they were very happy to serve us. And all of a sudden, Caitlyn Jenner was sitting there also having a drink, and she says, “Why don’t you just say hi and take a picture with me, because I’m bored to hell.” And that’s what I did.
Ellin Bessner: That’s right, because the parade itself was canceled because of the hostilities. Now, did you have any inkling that this was going to happen? I mean, you would have come anyway, even if there was no parade, you were coming on an official visit. But, Dave, you weren’t. Were you also coming to do the tour and the whole thing?
Dave Heilbron: Yeah, we did exactly the same sort of tour. Did I meet you at the President’s?
Maddy Eisenberg: Yeah. And like I will say, as a pretext, we’re so tired. I wasn’t there. Part of my delegation was there, but the Canadians arrived too late to go to the President’s house. So we’ve had similar but slightly different itineraries.
Ellin Bessner: Different buses.
Maddy Eisenberg: Exactly. I will say that, you know, my family was obviously concerned, given the ongoing conflict, that I was coming here, but they also didn’t expect something like this to also happen. They expected things to go on, maybe one siren, maybe one security issue, one-off, and then we’d fly home on Monday. That has changed. I don’t know if you expected such a serious threat.
Dave Heilbron: Because otherwise I would have never gone to Israel, with all due respect.
Ellin Bessner: So what’s happened to you both? Walk us through what the last 48 hours have been like.
Maddy Eisenberg: I will say, you know, being in Canada, the laws are different around weapons, around guns. We don’t experience this. We never experience this. So two nights ago, you know, at 3:30 am or something like that, there is the loudspeaker that comes on. There were air sirens, there were alerts on our phones from our home front command app, which lets us know in advance that things are about to happen. But I personally slept through all of that because there was no inkling that something was about to go down. Then we hear over the loudspeaker a message in Hebrew, which I don’t speak Hebrew. So I was thinking, you know, “What the f—?” And then we got up and I looked at my WhatsApp message and the delegation chat said, “Get to the stairwell. Go now.” And we ran down to the stairwell and I said, “What’s happening?” and the delegation said, “Iran.” And then we sat there, and then we went back to bed. None of us slept well that night at all. You know, fast forward to the next day, the next evening, which was last night at Shabbat dinner. We were all together. It was very special.
Dave Heilbron: And we were sitting at the same table.
Maddy Eisenberg: The same table, exactly. So we were. All the delegations were all mingling, everyone was talking. We were making kiddush, we were praying, we were having a really great time.
Dave Heilbron: And then I was getting a drink for you.
Maddy Eisenberg: You were getting a drink for me?
Dave Heilbron: Yeah.
Maddy Eisenberg: You were going up to the bar. We were about to have a cocktail, you know, just a Lechaim and a toast, and everything seemed okay. And then, boom, another alert. I remember distinctly everybody grabbing a piece of bread because we were about to have dinner, grabbing what they could and then running back down to the bomb shelter. And then every 20 minutes or so, another alert. We would take a bite of chicken, another alert, we would have a glass of wine, another. And then that continued because the influx of rockets was just coming and coming and coming. Overnight, we got two more, at one thirty and four.
Dave Heilbron: Four or five-ish.
Maddy Eisenberg: Four or five, yeah. So all to say, it’s, it’s… I think I would describe it as a little bit dystopian because I’m not used to this. None of us are used to this. So it’s been very interesting to see this juxtaposition of having a good time in Tel Aviv, being with people that we know now and love and respect, and feeling comfortable around, enjoying our travels, and then 30 seconds later having to take shelter.
Ellin Bessner: Dave, what about you? What was your experience in the shelter?
Dave Heilbron: So basically the same story as what Maddy just explained. This is a huge hotel, so it’s quite a maze because there are so many shelters in this hotel, and there’s a central meeting point which is basically a three-story parking garage. We’re at the second level of the parking garage, and we would meet there just to make sure that we are all safe. It’s very well organized from that perspective. Our representatives taking care of us are calling us and making sure that we’re at the designated area.
Ellin Bessner: Except you got to see a famous Fauda actor. You got to see Caitlyn Jenner and then tell me more about that.
Dave Heilbron: Yeah, because there’s nothing to do. It’s like lockdown during COVID. It’s basically the same story. Everything’s closed. We cannot go far from the hotel, only maybe 100 metres. Other than that, it’s very much restricted because we also have to make sure that we, we, again, we are not Israeli citizens. We have to make sure that we are back in place if there’s another bomb scare or whatever. So they invited two famous actors. One was, what’s his name? Itzik Cohen. And I forgot. The other one’s…Shahar Cohen, exactly. Very good, very good.
Ellin Bessner: I follow, I follow him on Instagram. Oh my G-d, he’s awesome. He’s coming to North America soon to Florida.
Dave Heilbron: Yes, and he was funny as well, but he was scared to bits because he had his dog. He came for us specially, and all of a sudden, when the first scare happened, he was very scared. Not because he’s gone through this before, but he left his dog behind, and his dog was all by itself. So, yeah, I had to comfort him. But Itzik was a doll. He even sent me a couple of messages during the day today as well because he found us very amusing.
Ellin Bessner: You guys are civilian newbies. Like, this is new to you. You’ve never experienced a bomb scare like this before. I mean, there were rockets, people died, there were people killed, destroyed houses. Have you heard anything? Do you hear the sound or just the sirens?
Dave Heilbron: No, we heard the bombs. I mean, I heard them. You weren’t there. A couple of nights ago, we were at Caesarea, which is a town between Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Ellin Bessner: Yeah, Caesarea.
Dave Heilbron: Yeah, Caesarea. Sorry about that. And there was a bomb in the air, which was blown away by the Iron Dome shield. And we saw that happening.
Ellin Bessner: You saw that?
Dave Heilbron: Yeah, I saw that happening. I have a picture, but it’s very difficult to see, but I have a picture to prove that. So.
Ellin Bessner: Wow.
Dave Heilbron: And last night you hear in the background as well the bombs falling. So yes, we did. I mean, I did hear the bombs.
Maddy Eisenberg: Yeah, yeah, I didn’t. I personally didn’t. But I do have a similar, I think, similar experience from Jerusalem when we were there. And one rocket getting from Yemen. It was from Yemen.
Dave Heilbron: Oh, really?
Maddy Eisenberg: Yeah. Getting intercepted. It was. Yeah, I believe it was Yemen.
Ellin Bessner: Yeah. They’re not just Iranians. The Houthis are at it too. So. Yeah, yeah.
Maddy Eisenberg: So that was really interesting for me because like Dave said, you know, seeing the rocket, we saw the aftereffects of the interception smoke, and it was easy to tell. I mean, the sky was clear, clear, clear that night. And after we came out of the shelter, there was just that one cloud. So that was very clearly the one that had been launched.
It’s going to sound strange, but extraordinary and, in the truest sense of the word, awesome and educational and terrifying and all of these emotions that I personally have not had the time to process and I will have to when I get back. I’ve been journaling throughout this whole trip and, you know, trying to gather local stories and people’s conversations and how everybody’s feeling on the ground. That was my personal purpose for coming here, just asking, you know, the Israeli Jews, the Israeli non-Jews, the Muslims, the everybody, you know, how are you feeling? Because there’s maybe this stigma that, you know, Israel’s not as diverse as it is. It’s so diverse here. Everybody is kind and welcoming and just beautiful, beautiful people. So I wanted to know how they were doing. But then as soon as the rockets started coming and we started getting these air sirens, I stopped writing things down because it’s just been so much to think about and handle, and we’ll have to, I think, do a bit of decompressing over the next few days.
Ellin Bessner: Well, you’re not going to have time because they’re already incoming. You were telling me that there’s incoming ones now. So what do you want our listeners to understand about what it’s like in the shelters? You were with mostly tourists, or were there also Israeli or real people?
Dave Heilbron: No, the majority are because we’re in a hotel, and there are a lot of people walking their dogs, especially the first raid, which came in, walking the dogs, and then all of a sudden they had to run to the shelter. So we just basically went down the stairs, and the hotel management sent us to the right direction. But all these people are, I mean, I saw them running into the hotel to run to the shelter. So no, that was an experience.
Ellin Bessner: And what do you do there? Do you talk to them? Do you look at your phones? What do people do?
Dave Heilbron: No, I remember an old lady who, who I think was Israeli. I don’t know if she was a Holocaust survivor, but she was scared to bits, really, really terrified. So we had to comfort her down in the shelter, even though she was Israeli. So it doesn’t matter if you are a tourist or even if you’re a local resident living in Tel Aviv, having encountered this before, everybody’s terrified. With all due respect, and I think for the Tel Aviv residents or the Israeli residents have encountered this before because Iran has done this in April, I think, last year.
Ellin Bessner: Yes, they did. And again twice. Twice.
Dave Heilbron: What is anticipated for tonight is going to be a huge, huge thing because we just got our information that the second in command of Iran has just been killed as well. So we are anticipating a huge rocket there from Iran, which has never been dealt with before by the Israeli army. So, yeah, I’m confident that we’re going to be protected in the right way. But it’s going to be scary nights. That’s our anticipation.
Ellin Bessner: And you’re there for Pride, Pride Parade, Pride Week. I saw during the videos that you sent Dave, people are still wearing their pride shirts, their rainbow colours. How do you hold these two things at the same time? And for people who would have loved to have gone and it’s cancelled. And then the whole Iran thing and how people who are LGBTQ are not allowed to do that in Iran or Hamas or, you know?
Dave Heilbron: In my opinion, Judaism is about life and celebrating life. And I think even though we have scary moments in time, you have to constantly celebrate life. And it was, in my view, a very good thing that we celebrated Shabbat last night together. And I think if you walk down the beach and you see how everybody is just enjoying themselves on Shabbat today, I’m astonished because we’re just waiting for the next raid.
Ellin Bessner: There’s people on the beach? I thought they’re not allowed.
Dave Heilbron: Yeah. As of 11 o’clock, everything was cleared out, which was surprising. The beach is only, what, 20 metres away? It’s very close. So you’re not allowed to go away 100 metres from the hotel, but the beach is packed, so there are a lot of people who are celebrating life. What else can you do? Everything’s closed. I mean, the only things that are open are some small supermarkets and some coffee shops, but other than that, you’ve got nothing to do.
Maddy Eisenberg: Yeah. And I think, you know, I won’t speak for all queer people here. I’m bisexual and Jewish, and I think that there is sort of this obligation almost to want to celebrate pride, even with everything going on. That’s something I’ve come to realize about the locals here, is they don’t stop and they make the most of every single day. My Jewishness is a part of me in the same way that my queerness is a part of me, in the same way that now my trip to Israel is a part of me. And it all sort of is enveloped into this one nice little heartwarming package that has sort of sustained me through all of what’s been going on over the last two days.
Ellin Bessner: And also, what about your partners? How freaked out are they? Are they with you?
Maddy Eisenberg: I don’t know about yours.
Dave Heilbron: Mine is with me.
Maddy Eisenberg: Yeah, mine’s not. He’s back in Ottawa and I think he’s putting on a front. I think he’s acting calmer than he feels. And he’s doing his best to calm me down. I’m not anxious about what’s going on here. I’m just anxious about wanting to get home to him.
Ellin Bessner: Right. You’re not going anywhere until at least what. How are you going to get out of there? You don’t even know.
Maddy Eisenberg: That’s one piece of it. But also the conversations that I’ve had on this trip for survivors of October 7th have made me want to go back even more to him because learning about those who lost their loved ones, learning about a husband two days ago that was planning his wedding with his future husband and, you know, had to use the wedding flowers for his funeral.
Ellin Bessner: I think we saw that story. I don’t remember the names, but I think I remember that.
Maddy Eisenberg: Yeah, so that was hard. And it made me think of my partner back home. So we’ve been chatting on WhatsApp a lot, and last night he, you know, sang me to sleep. Yeah, I just, I really would like to get back as soon as possible to give him a hug. Before this interview, Dave heard I was chatting with my sister and my nephew, who’s 7, and he’s like, When are you coming home? Like, I don’t know, buddy. I can’t tell you, but I hope soon.
Ellin Bessner: So I need to ask before we end. Alright, the world is, some world leaders are saying that this is saving the rest of the world from Iran’s bomb. There’s lots of support in some circles for what Israel is doing. Others, like in Canada for example, the Canadian position is that they want to see de-escalation. How do you feel about what Israel has done? Do you want to talk politics? Are you supportive of it? Is there anything you wanted to add or address before we end?
Maddy Eisenberg: Like I said, I came here to hear people’s stories and they want this to end. Not just this being the last two days. They want all of this to be ending with the goal of peace. And I think that that’s one of the messages I wanted to bring home. I personally just want the same after hearing what they have to say.
Dave Heilbron: So I would agree. I think, I’m sorry, I’m not a personal supporter of Netanyahu. That’s my personal opinion. But I think this is the right step because I think this is the last thing which needed to be done after tackling Hezbollah, tackling Hamas, and I think this is the core of the problem. And now I see and I do believe that this is going to be successful, that the world is going to be a lot more peaceful than it was, especially in the Middle East, if this is going to be a success for all of us. So even though I hate war, I think this is the right step.
Ellin Bessner: Well, stay safe and we’ll check in with you during the next few days. And thank you so much for giving us this time. And yeah, be well.
Dave Heilbron: Thank you.
Show Notes
Related links
- What Global Affairs Canada is telling Canadians in Israel to do, in The CJN.
- Follow the IDF’s official website account on “Operation Rising Lion”.
- How Canadian Dave Heilbron, a leader of a pro-Israel lobby organization based in Amsterdam, experienced the “pogrom” against Israeli soccer fans in his adopted country, in November 2024.
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
- Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music: Bret Higgins
Support our show
- Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
- Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
- Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)
