The Chicago Way podcast: Emilee Rauschenberger, American teacher born in Elgin IL, trapped in Gaza with her five kids
by John Kass
November 2nd, 2023
Have you ever lost your child in a department store? We have. I remember Betty screaming at the security guards and the Oakbrook store locked down immediately.
A few minutes later, we found the boys—then 4 years old—hiding in the coat racks.
The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. What happened to my family years ago probably is trivial when compared to the anguish and pain rippling in waves out from the Middle East.
But that’s what I thought of—the helplessness my wife and I felt so long ago—as WGN radio executive producer Jeff Carlin and I were speaking to John Rauschenberger and his son Joe on our Chicago Way podcast. We were talking about John’s daughter Emilee Rauschenberger.
Emilee Rauschenberger isn’t a lost child. She’s a grown, married woman and mother of five. But she’s trapped in Gaza with no way out from the Rafah crossing to Egypt. There is no power. No water. No food for her five kids. And the bombs keep falling.
I know Israel is in a war for its very survival after Palestinian and Iran-backed Hamas terrorists murdered 1,500 innocent Israeli civilians in the horrendous surprise attack of October 7.
The stories we’ve published at johnkassnews.com reflect that. And how important it is that Israel remain strong. But we’re thinking of other innocent lives too.
Emilee Rauschenberger and her five children are innocent. She married a Palestinian and the family went over to visit when they became trapped.
Her father, John Rauschenberger—brother of Illinois Republican Steve Rauschenberger—and his son Joe have a request:
If you can help them to get out of Gaza to please contact him at JohnRauschenberger@gmail.com
He’s tried contacting the U.S. State Department, but no real luck.
It is what happens in war. Now there is no water. They can’t get out. And the bombs keep falling.
I remember what Betty and I felt like when the boys ran off to hide in the coat racks at Oakbrook. This is much, much, worse. The anguish of families during war.
I can’t put my arms around what the Rauschenberger family has been going through. So much pain.
And pain pain for the families of Israeli and American hostages of Iran-backed Hamas; pain for the innocent Israelis slaughtered by Hamas terrorists, the beheaded babies, the raped Jewish women; the kidnapped elderly; pain for the innocent Palestinians who will be hurt; and pain of American Jews hunted down on American college campuses by radical leftists who hate America, the haters protected by elite universities and corrupt corporate leftist media.
And pain of all the families of the brave Israeli soldiers who will fight in dark tunnels against terrorists who are dug in as American leftist Democrats scream for the deaths of Israelis.
On Wednesday, John Rauschenberger was able to text his daughter as she waited, hoping to use the Rafah crossing to leave Gaza. He wanted to share what she told him with you:
“Dad–We went to Rafah border today. But we were not let through bc the list of people were mainly international NGO staff and neighbouring Arab nationals and injured people. We hope tomorrow, which we heard may let through Americans, British and other nationals. Emile
“Word is next 2 days Americans,”
She put a prayer emoji to punctuate her text to her father.
I thought of him reading it. And all the people on all sides of this.
So much endless pain and misery. So much endless hate.
Kyrie Eliason.
Lord have mercy.
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Comments 13
Everyone with a sense of moral clarity, Jew, Christian, Arab, has empathy for the plight of your friend’s family. And there are many others in a similar situation. And the world, in it’s self-righteous virtue-signaling, calls for a “humanitarian” cease fire.
But, where was this self-righteousness on 07 October, when Israelis were shot, tortured, beheaded, desecrated, violated, and murdered in cold blood? No one complained then, as no one ever complains when Jews are on the receiving end.
It’s only when the Jews are winning that the world cries, “Stop! The innocent children! The civilians! The hospitals!”
So, I, for one, am not sorry. And, I have family in Israel; over 7 million relatives.
One last use of quotation marks: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Wow , Gary , good for you to say that . I’m not much on writing , I usually slept thru that class but did like history . Which I think a lot of these kids are lacking in . I may be wrong but the Jewish People had to fight the Arab world for what should have been their rightful homeland . They were willing for a long while to share but the Arabs were not . It goes back to human nature . The Jewish People are by nature hardworking and usually successful. The Russians ,Germans and now the Arabs can’t stand that . So on it goes .
In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attacks–I began condemning Iran backed Hamas. As did my colleagues at johnkassnews.com. anyone who defends Hamas murders, rapes, kidnapping of innocent civilians have no place in civilized society.
But occasionally through all the screaming from the left, I wonder if I’ll ever get apology from Soros-backed journos about how they falsely defamed me and killed a great newspaper:
https://robertfeder.dailyherald.com/2020/07/27/tribune-colleagues-blast-john-kass-column-antithetical-values/
No, John, the left never apologizes, no matter how egregious the outrage. There are never any repercussions for insults, negligence or intentional malfeasance.
War is hell as an old saying goes.. Did anyone complain of the “innocent” Germans who died in WWII especially in the last battle of Berlin. Were the Red Army rapists (as well as the few US troop rapists, French, British) brought to Nuremburg Tribunal. No? Hmmmm I wonder why. Oh, that’s right: we won! How about the “innocent” Japanese, Italians, Austrians, etc. The 2 nukes used on Japan, we were told, were military sites we needed to hit. Lies. Mostly civilians. The US military need to see how many the bomb could kill. The Hamas cowards kill in the most disgusting ways. A husband was kept alive and had to watch while his wife was raped in front of him, then killed. All while their infant baked in an oven. Not one Hamas should left alive.
While the Rauschenbergers certainly deserve our sympathy and help, it is difficult to work up any sympathy for the actual citizens of Gaza. We all know the stories of how they destroyed anything left by the Israelis when the Israelis left Gaza, no reason to go off on a harangue about that. But, when 2 million citizens of Gaza alllow 30,000 Hamas savages to control their life, to prefer a life of generational hatred to rule their lives rather than to follow a civilized course benefiting themselves and their land, any call for sympathy is difficult to take seriously.
Just fired off a email to fellow HS classmate John R. He worries about his daughter and her family as we all would. Wrong place, wrong time. Happens always, everywhere, especially in Chicago. My personal concern is that families faith. Ishmael’s relatives living as foretold 4000 years ago, violence against brothers, sadly. But once again the Bible contains truth. But traditional Jews are no better off eternally as their promised Messiah is ignored!
Both, current Muslims and Jews face an eternity of suffering unless they turn to the Light of the World. His name is Jesus and He’s as a shepherd, calling His sheep. Who will come to Him? And what about YOU reading this? Eternal life vs eternal suffering paying for one’s sins.
Hamas is the only government in Gaza. Hamas has blocked the exit of foreign nationals for weeks. The foreign nationals serve Hamas as additional hostages.
Everything Hamas does is a war crime: genocide, killing babies, taking hostages, killing prisoners of war, using human shields and making no provision for the civilians under their control. In their 300 miles of tunnels, Hamas has plenty of food, water and fuel. Hamas keeps it all for themselves.
Why would anyone support them?
Reporting this family’s distress, without mentioning that Hamas is responsible, is journalistic malpractice.
I think John has been very clear that Hamas is ultimately responsible for this tragedy given his many previous articles. None the less that does not alter or change the family’s heart breaking situation. After all, everything you say about Hamas is true: evil psychopathic murderers. But it is also true that this family is stuck in the middle of this hell hole regardless.
I saw a cartoon that says it all for me. The first picture is a man with a Hamas flag on his t-shirt. He is holding a long poll. The man walks over to a bee’s nest in a tree that has an Israeli flag on it. The next picture the man begins to poke the nest. Not surprising to anyone the bees come out and attack the man. The man runs to others who are nearby and points to the attacking bees as if it was the bees who were at fault.
Hamas has stirred the nest by killing, raping and other atrocities and are now getting stung. What did they expect. The obvious plan by Hamas is to eradicate the bees. But they have awoken a swarm of killer bees, and they are the ones who might get eradicated as Iran continues to provide the polls to Hamas. Good luck with that philosophy.
I disagree. Hamas knew the bees would attack … ferociously. They also knew their western friends and apologists would soon blame the bees … as is now happening.
I have contributed to an Israeli-Palestinian group called STANDING TOGETHER, mostly younger people in leadership positions. No violence, no weapons in this group. The recently deceased Marilyn Katz had a reception a year or so ago and the two presenters were impressive in their openness and commitment to peace.
I have read much about the tortures inflicted on Oct 7, things I would not repeat because they so horrible. There were instances of great bravery.
I have been obsessed with potable water public policy for decades, and recommend listening to the podcast from ATLANTIC magazine: The Man Working to Keep the Water On in Gaza.
Forwarded this to a relative in the Israeli govt to see if they could help.