A heated controversy has erupted over a private evacuation effort from Israel after a New York mother took to Instagram to expose the rescue organization’s misconduct, claims that are now being forcefully rejected by the group and some eyewitness accounts.

Dr. Lauren Hofstatter, known online as “The Orthodox Therapist,” went viral after alleging that her daughter was effectively stranded during a Grey Bull Rescue mission.

“She’s being held in Jordan,” Hofstatter claimed, describing the situation as “extortion” and alleging that organizers demanded a huge sum of money to secure a flight out.

According to her account, approximately 150 evacuees traveled from Jerusalem to Amman, Jordan, expecting to board a rescue flight. However, after waiting at the airport, “there was no plane,” forcing the group to return to a hotel, only for the effort to fail the following day again. This dragged on for multiple days, with no proper kosher food and what she described as a traumatizing time for her daughter.

But as the story spread, a very different version of events began to emerge.

The Post reviewed video of Hofstatter’s own daughter, who said she “felt so safe the entire time” and described Grey Bull as “taking care of everything and being organized.” She was also seen eating kosher food while under their care.

Grey Bull Rescue founder Bryan Stern sharply rejected the accusations, calling them “wildly inaccurate” and insisting that “no one is being held hostage.”

He explained that the delays were caused by active wartime conditions, including missile threats and shifting airspace restrictions, noting, “We operate in active war zones,” where situations can change “minute by minute.”

Additional accounts from families involved strongly backed that version.

One individual stated, “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 delivered an especially emotional defense of the operation:

“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 into it on behalf of Greybull to make this whole thing work.”

The parent continued, emphasizing the reality of the situation:

“Nobody was happy that it took days, however, our kids escaped a war zone in a way that is almost above nature.”

Rep. Nancy Mace also voiced support for Grey Bull Rescue, praising the group’s efforts to extract Americans from a war zone.

They also addressed the controversial fundraising claims, explaining:

“The reason why GreyBull started fundraising was because of the mounting costs of purposely delaying the flight so that the airplane could take off without danger as the airspace opens.”

Grey Bull Rescue explained that any fundraising efforts were optional and intended only to offset the enormous costs of emergency charter flights, not a condition for evacuation.

In a dramatic development, and as a result of the accusations, the organization has now announced it is suspending all rescue operations and returning its teams to the United States, halting further missions from Israel for the time being.