Sisters come home from Israel studies On school break in Calais, siblings catch news on TV

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CALAIS – For the last year, two sisters from Calais have lived in Israel and experienced Israeli life from an American perspective.

Now they are back home, on a two-month break from their Israeli university – and seeing American life from an Israeli perspective.

Given the new reality of Israel’s conflict with Lebanon, Anav and Keseah Silverman, ages 20 and 19 respectively, are glued to television news and Israeli Web sites.

“We just went from one world [Israel] into another [Calais],” Anav said of the sisters’ return home Tuesday after flying 11 hours from Tel Aviv. “One day we’re living in the spotlight, and now it’s all behind us.”

The sisters have “mixed emotions” about leaving Israel at this time.

Both are graduates of Calais High School, Anav in 2004 and Keseah in 2005. Both are now students at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv.

Both, too, were born in Israel to their American father Harold and his Israeli wife Rachel. When Anav was 2, the family moved to Calais, where Silverman had owned a store.

The family’s annual trips to Israel and the girls’ dual citizenship made studying in Israel a natural choice. A third sister, 17-year-old Reemon, will be a senior this fall at Calais High School. She has her eye on studying in Israel after she graduates.

“Hopefully, the war will be over by the time she comes,” Anav said. “Things change awfully quickly in that region, and we pray for the best.”

The girls felt no direct danger while finishing out their coursework at the university and flew to Boston as previously scheduled.

But they left behind classmates and friends in the dormitory whose families were affected by Hezbollah’s bombardment of Haifa in the north, about 65 miles from their university.

The conflict started on July 12, and the sisters felt the tension immediately.

“It’s like, we want to be there to support our friends and their families, and we’re less worried there, because we can talk to them,” Anav said. “The news is much more limited here, and you see everything from the television.

“We are glad to be home, but we do miss Israel.”

The cross-border conflict left Israeli families scrambling for safety and shelter.

Several families from Israel’s north arrived at the university in recent weeks to stay at the sisters’ dorms.

“The people [at the university] are so hospitable in helping families feel safe,” Anav said.

“These situations bring out the best in people in that aspect. That’s what will get us through this,” she said.

“It was intense,” Keseah said.

“The missiles didn’t reach our area, but they came during our exams. Students are trying to study and get good grades, but they are worried about their families.”

On the first day of hostilities, all students were shown the way to the bomb shelters.

“If a rocket struck Tel Aviv, we would have one minute to find a safe haven,” Anav said. “You learn to live with that reality and try to have a positive attitude.”

Tension was eased each evening at the sisters’ dorm by students’ recital of psalms for the soldiers.

But new stories emerged daily. Keseah said talk of the bombardments is incessant.

“Everyone was trying to study, but it was always, ‘Did you hear what happened?'” Keseah said. “You sit on the bus and hear it, or even the plane. Everyone knows someone who was killed.

“It’s a difficult time for many people, because their home is being destroyed.

“We have a home in Calais, so we don’t know what that’s like.”

The sisters’ father, Harold Silverman, is a former state senator and adviser to former Gov. James Longley. He is now a retired businessman who stays involved with local issues.

“It’s nice to be home,” Anav said, “because there is nothing like your childhood home.

“And Maine is a beautiful place,” she said. “I can appreciate that after two years away.”