Dozens of Americans who were evacuated from Israel through the nonprofit Grey Bull Rescue have come forward to defend the organization after a viral social media post accused it of misconduct, with many describing their experiences as positive and expressing strong appreciation for the group’s efforts.

Grey Bull Rescue, a donor-supported organization led by military veterans, specializes in extracting Americans from dangerous environments. The group says it has carried out 808 missions and helped rescue 8,739 people. It reports experience in areas such as special operations, counter–human trafficking, evacuations from war zones, and hostage situations. The organization was established by combat veteran Bryan Stern.

The controversy began after Dr. Lauren Hofstatter, known online as @theorthodoxtherapist, posted a video describing her daughter’s evacuation experience with Grey Bull. In the video, she alleged that her daughter’s group was left stranded in Jordan unless their parents could raise $1 million.

Hofstatter said her daughter called her Friday morning, just before the conflict with Iran escalated, expressing fear. Hofstatter then booked her on a Motzoei Shabbos flight to the United States, but the flight was canceled once Iranian attacks on Israel began.

According to Hofstatter, her daughter departed Yerushalayim on Tuesday at midday with roughly 150 people in the Grey Bull group. She said they were told they would travel through Jordan and then fly to Europe, from where they would arrange their own return home.

Hofstatter claimed that upon arriving at the airport in Amman Tuesday evening, the group waited until 3 a.m. for a flight that never came. She said they returned to a hotel and tried again the next day, but still were unable to leave.

Hofstatter told the Jerusalem Post that she later received a heter from a rabbi allowing her daughter to eat bread in Jordan, and subsequently another ruling permitting her to fly on Shabbos if necessary.

She added that on Motzoei Shabbos, several boys on the trip contacted their parents, who then used connections to reach the State Department, prompting Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun to get involved.

“I don’t think her safety was compromised, but I do think she was held hostage, and I do think it is embezzlement and extortion,” Hofstatter alleged.

Grey Bull founder Brian Stern dismissed Hofstatter’s claims, describing them to the Post as “silly” and “wildly debunked.”

He explained that a chartered flight had already been arranged and funded, but missile attacks caused delays that resulted in the group missing its departure window. By the time arrangements could be reset, Shabbos had begun, and religious members of the group could not travel, leading to a decision to remain in place and resume efforts afterward. During that time, the group stayed in a five-star hotel in Amman under heavy security, including 60 armed guards and Jordanian special forces.

“When you dissect her statements, if you go data point by data point, they’re either misrepresented or patently false,” he told the Post. “She says on there that I asked everyone for a million dollars for a plane. That’s not what happened.”

Stern emphasized that no one was required to contribute funds, explaining that he simply informed participants about the financial needs of arranging flights.

“It’s kind of strange to see someone say, how dare you get my daughter out of the war zone, keep her safe, feed her kosher food, which you can’t do in Jordan. There’s no kosher food in Jordan. I’m the first and only person to establish a kosher kitchen in Jordan.”

The Post reviewed a video of Hofstatter’s daughter stating she “felt so safe the entire time” and describing Grey Bull as “taking care of everything and was organized.” She was also seen eating kosher food.

Despite the criticism, most accounts gathered were strongly supportive of Grey Bull’s work. One individual said, “My brother was on that mission. Brian was in charge of a group of [seminary] girls. He was not asked for any money; he said it was excellent.”

Another parent emphasized the outcome, stating, “At the end of the day, they all came back, safe, happy, healthy, and no parent had to spend a penny for it. There is no merit to creating a slap in the face that completely denies the work, networking, and hustling that went in on behalf of Greybull to make this whole thing work. Nobody was happy that it took days, however OUR KIDS ESCAPED A WAR ZONE IN A WAY THAT’S ALMOST ABOVE NATURE. Also, the reason why GreyBull started fundraising was because of mounting costs of purposely delaying the flight so that the airplane can take off without danger as the airspace opens.”

{Matzav.com}