Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Never Really a Lone Soldier - Fulfilling a Dream

Laura Ben-David..
Times of Israel..
10 September '12..

Arya, a lone soldier in the IDF, grew up knowing that ‘Israel was a special and important place.’ Even as a young teen, Arya knew that just knowing about Israel wasn’t enough. The 26 year-old native of Encino, California, grew up in a family with deeply Zionistic roots, which imbued him with strong feelings for Israel from the time he was very small. By the time Arya was 14, he knew that he was going to one day make Aliyah and join the IDF. If Israelis were defending Israel, then he, as a Jew, should be doing so as well. And he did exactly that.

Maya Liss, originally from L.A., wanted to dedicate her life to advocating for Israel and the Jewish people. “I felt that in order truly advocate for Israel,” said Maya, now 24, “I had to be Israeli. And I can’t think of a better way to start my life as an Israeli than to serve in the IDF.”

Nadav Weinberg, 26, observed the difficult events of the second Intifada from Shaker Heights, Ohio. Then just sixteen, he had Israeli cousins fighting in combat units. “It didn’t feel right that my cousins were serving yet, because I happened to be from the U.S., I wouldn’t be obligated to serve my people when I came of age.”

(Read full "Never really a lone soldier")

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