Training in the bitter cold - Anat Schneider ISRAEL TODAY

Training in the bitter cold

Monday, February 08, 2016 |  Anat Schneider  
ISRAEL TODAY

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It was freezing outside as we communicated with Moran via our family's WhatsApp group.

My son Moran is someone that has always endured the cold without discomfort. Since he was a young boy he liked to lie on the floor in order to cool down.

While everybody was warmly wrapped in sweaters and jackets during the winter, he would be wearing shorts. He would usually comment how warm it was.

A couple of Shabbats ago, when he returned home, he expressly stated, "I do not like winter!"

The week that followed, Israel was enveloped by an unusually cold spell and the temperatures dropped below freezing.

He and his whole unit were in the field training during that whole week.

They were out in the field exposed to the elements without tents, without warm jackets, no hot showers and without hot food.

In the howling wind and freezing rain they slogged on with their training.

All honor to those kids who, just a year ago, were spoiled high school scholars who got up to the usual mischief.

Here they are, having matured enormously from teenagers to IDF combat soldiers full of discipline, understanding the responsibility entrusted to them of defending the country and her citizens.

"What a man he has become!" says everybody.

But for me as a mother it is not always easy. I want my 19 year-old son at home! I would like him to remain a child for another couple of years. The transformation from child to soldier has been so sudden and drastic.

What choice do I have?

But to sit in a cosy home and pray that as he and his soldier buddies sleep on the cold earth, it will only be in training.

That they will return home healthy, safe and sound is the prayer of mothers and fathers.

HELP US ENCOURAGE OUR SOLDIERS AND SHOW THEM YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!

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Blog: Lone Soldiers – thousands of miles away from home

Thursday, June 18, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

Topics:

Support Israeli Soldiers

They are young, they have often just finished high school and they have their future ahead of them. Enrolling in university, getting a job, earning money or maybe traveling throughout the world. But some of the Jewish adolescents in the diaspora decide for something totally different. They travel to Israel to join the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

These persons are called lone soldiers. In general, the term “lone soldier” refers to ordinary conscripts who lack a traditional family support network within Israel like volunteers or new immigrants whose parents are abroad or Israelis without families like orphans or from “broken homes”.

According to official army statistics from December 2014, 6,191 lone soldiers were enrolled in the IDF last year. That is more than in any preceding year. Among them were 3,484 lone soldiers that grew up in another country, immigrated to Israel leaving family and friends behind to contribute their share to the Jewish state. These soldiers came from over 70 countries with a quarter of them coming from the USA followed by Russia and the Ukraine. Around half of them serve in combat units or in combat-support units. The figures regarding the share of female soldiers are surprising. Almost a third of recruits from abroad are women.

During operation “protective shield”, three lone soldiers lost their lives: Max Steinberg and Sean Carmeli from the USA and Jordan Bensemhoun from France. According to Israeli media over 30,000 mourners attended the funeral of Steinberg and some 20,000 the funeral of Carmeli in last year.

But what motivates young Jews to join the IDF even though their center of life is outside Israel?

A 22 year old man from New York that serves in the IDF explained his motivations. “In the United States, I worked for a business company and earned pretty well. But after working there for a couple of years, I had the feeling that there must be something more in life, something meaningful,” he said. “As a Jew Israel was always a central part of my life.” In the first months he learned basic Hebrew before his military service started. He doesn’t regret his decision at all, “I became a different person, a stronger one.”

This was a blog post from "Support Israeli Soldiers" from our "Support Israel" section. We appreciate every donation. In order to help the Land of Israel and her residents see "Support Israel".

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