Thursday night, a group of North Texans came together in Plano to rally support for Israel’s military.
Friends of the IDF is an organization raising funds for the humanitarian needs of soldiers serving on the frontlines.
That includes at least 21 Texans who are among the “lone soldiers, young men and women who've left their homes to help protect the country who have no immediate family in Israel.
Among them is Parish Episcopal School graduate Megan Daniels.
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Rather than head off to college when she turned 18, Daniels chose an unconventional path.
"Megan, I think, hatched this plan when she was on a visit to Israel in middle school,” said her father Eddie Daniels. "She wanted to be a part of supporting Israel in the way that she thought was best and that was joining the IDF."
Now 19, Daniels is an Israeli dual citizen, serving her mandatory military service.
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She was on duty in Tel Aviv the morning Hamas attacked.
Taryn and Eddie Daniels said the news had yet to reach the U.S. when their youngest called to say she was OK.
"I think at first, kind of like on 9/11, there's a little bit of disbelief because it's a surprise. Each time you peel the onion, it's more and more surprising. So, I think there was a lot of fear of what are we not knowing. What happens next?” said Eddie.
The Daniels said Megan has expressed gratitude for U.S. support and public signs of solidarity like the pictures of Dallas’s skyline lit up in Israeli colors.
Through Friends of the IDF, the family is helping to rally support for needs like field hospitals, armored ambulances, medical supplies, plasma and hygiene kits to bolster those fighting to keep Israel safe.
"That's the whole reason Israel is here. There was a time when in the Holocaust, Jews felt like they couldn't be free to be Jewish and they needed a state where they could be Jewish," said Eddie.
"And safe," added Taryn.
"And now we have that, and now that's all kind of been put into question,” said Eddie.
So despite their fear, the Daniels are proud of their daughter and those she serves alongside.
"I think she would do it again if she had to,” said Taryn.
"I think a lot of us are here feeling helpless. How can this be happening to our family, our friends and innocent people? And we feel powerless. We can't do anything about it,” said Eddie. “But in a bigger sense, a macro sense, she can do something about it and she is."
