Israeli woman in Overland Park shares hers perspective on living with terrorism

OVERLAND PARK. Kan. - On all accounts, Ophir Hacohen looks like a typical 22-year-old woman. She is energetic and wears trendy dark-rimmed reading glasses. However, don’t let Hacoen’s youthfulness fool you.

“I was born and raised in Tel Aviv," she explained. “A city on the border of Gaza is being attacked weekly by rockets, for eight or nine years. We know what that's like when you are Israeli. I think it's very different when you live in Kansas.”

Spending the next year in quiet Overland Park, Kan., inside the Jewish Community Center, doesn't give her much relief. Her mother, father, grandparents and friends live in Israel.

“Being here is not easier for me because everyone is still there,” she said. “So, if something happens, then you're still connected.”

Terror attacks, like the one that occurred last night in Libya, are a far too familiar experience for Hacohen and her family.

The creator of the anti-Islam video that is said to have sparked this most recent set of riots and attacks is rumored to be Israeli. For that creator, Hacohen has a clear message.

“It does not reflect most Israelis and their opinions on the subject,” she said. “We are standing together with the U.S. and with the families and, unfortunately, we know what's that is like."

Hacohen said she can sympathize in every way with the four American families that lost their loved ones Tuesday night.