PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Mayor Brett Smiley said his second trip to Israel was “very meaningful,” as it was his first visit to the country since converting to Judaism last summer.
The mayor returned to Providence last Wednesday after spending a week in the country with a group from the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island earlier this month.
“There was a lot that I gained in terms of understanding and context for the current situation. But it was personally deeply moving for me,” Smiley told 12 News on Wednesday.
The mayor also explained what it was like to have to take shelter amid alarms warning of an airstrike.
“Everywhere you go right now, every time you check into a hotel or go out to eat, you see very clear signs for where the closest shelter is,” Smiley said. “That alone is jarring, to recognize that there’s millions of people for whom that’s how they live their daily lives.”
The mayor said that on the last night of his trip, the group was sitting down for dinner in Tel Aviv when they were alerted that they would have to move.
“One of our guides came in and said, ‘In a couple of minutes we’re going to stand up. We’re going to walk outside, we’re going to take a left, and then you’re going to take the first left into a parking garage,’” Smiley recalled. “And right as she finished speaking, we could hear the sirens go off.”
RELATED: Palestinian flag-raising at Providence City Hall divides councilors
Smiley said it was “a very real way” to experience and empathize with the situation.
“This is a condition that no one should have to live with, whether it’s in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine or any other war-torn portion of the world,” Smiley said. “So, it helped to provide a little bit of empathy for me and also a little gratitude to get to live in this country every day.”
The trip brewed controversy among some groups, like the Rhode Island chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace, who protested outside of the mayor’s Hope Street home the day after he returned from his trip.
NEXT: Should Providence City Hall have a flag policy? Mayor Smiley thinks so
Alexandra Leslie ([email protected]) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook.
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