Oklahomans With Family In Israel And Lebanon Express Concerns

The explosions rocking the Middle East are also rattling folks in Tulsa, especially those with friends and family in the war zone. <br/><br/>Sam and Nuhad Farhood were both born in Lebanon. They still

Monday, July 17th 2006, 11:45 am

By: News On 6

The explosions rocking the Middle East are also rattling folks in Tulsa, especially those with friends and family in the war zone.

Sam and Nuhad Farhood were both born in Lebanon. They still have family there, many in Marjayoun, near the Israeli border. The Farhoods say their family is always on their minds, even when they're busy with customers at the Cedars Deli.

Thursday and Friday, phone lines were jammed and they couldn't get through to anyone. Communication has since cleared up. The Farhoods have been calling and emailing their family in Lebanon on a daily basis. Nuhad Farhood: "Today my brother cried on the phone. He said don't worry about us. They worried about me that I'm worried about them. It's just very tough."

Meanwhile, Israeli Itai Lavi is concerned for the safety of civilians on both sides of the border. In Tulsa as an Israeli Emissary, his family and friends are back in Israel. He's also concerned for the Lebanese civilians, caught in the middle of Hezbollah counter-strikes.

Lavi's friends have had some close calls. "I talked to him three days ago, and as we talked, suddenly I hear like a huge explosion, like 15 seconds of complete silence. And his name is Droh. And I call, "Droh! Droh!" He said, "There was a rocket like 15 yards from us but everything is okay. Nobody's injured, don't worry."

But it's hard not to worry when your family is caught in the crossfire.