"It's horrific": Florine Mark, former face of Weight Watchers, speaks about having family in Israel
UPDATE: Florine Mark, the former president of the Weight Watchers Group, has died. This news comes after CBS News Detroit's Meredith Bruckner interviewed Mark just yesterday, where she spoke about her family in Israel amid the ongoing war.
(CBS DETROIT) - As the war unfolds in Israel, the situation hits very close to home for numerous local families.
Florine Mark, the former president of the Weight Watchers Group, has three generations of family in Israel. She says she worries about them every day.
"It's so awful when you hear the alarm goes off and little kids have to go into the bomb shelter and sleep on mattresses," said Mark.
When she woke to the news on Saturday that Israel was under attack, she said she wanted to spring into action.
"I wanted to run to Israel, grab a plane, and grab all my children, have them come back here until it's all over," she said. "Especially for my grandchildren, that was my first thought. And then I thought about the Israeli people. I know how proud they are."
Mark recently traveled to Israel for her grandson's wedding. He is now serving in the reserve forces.
"To think that my grandson who just got married with his beautiful bride and he was called back up into the reserves... who knows what he's doing," she said, adding that she thinks about him "every minute of every day."
Mark shared that she sometimes needs to take a break from watching the news.
She wakes up early each day and calls her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv.
"I think she's trying to spare me, [saying] you know 'Mom, don't worry. Everything's fine,'" she said. "They've all got to be scared. They've all got to be frightened."
Ultimately, her message is one of peace.
"I don't want to see the Palestinians who are living in the Gaza Strip who are not part of Hamas; I don't want to see them hurt," said Mark. "Israel wants to make peace. And I know there are many Palestinians that want peace, too."
