The Path of a Lone Soldier
By Anton Riehle
Within the American Jewish community, support, admiration, and love for the state of Israel is institutional. From Birthright trips to Jewish day schools to youth groups, just about every facet of Jewish life in the United States — and most diaspora communities — reinforce this sentiment. Following the Simchat Torah massacre on October 7, 2023, this rhetorical support turned to a concerted effort in virtually every Jewish community across the globe to donate money, supplies and even airfares to the Israel Defense Forces and emergency medical services in Israel. Rallies in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London drew thousands of diaspora Jews.
Then, there are those in the diaspora who take it a few steps further: the lone soldiers. Over the years, the IDF has orchestrated a system that allows young people in the diaspora, many of whom are Jewish and some of whom speak no Hebrew, to enlist in the IDF. Israel’s military is based on conscription, where many Jews in Israel, as well as Druze men, must serve a mandatory service of several years. This feature is not unique to Israel — South Korea, Austria, and Turkey also conscript. However, as a country of just over nine million, Israel relies on lone soldiers to bolster its fighting forces.
Lone soldiers embark on this journey often at great risk to their own lives — one notable story is that of Mike Levin, who made Aliyah to Israel shortly after high school to enlist and was killed by Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon War. Now more than ever, as IDF soldiers prepare to embark on a dangerous ground invasion of the Gaza strip, the peril lone soldiers have put themselves in is increased.
Motivations and backgrounds differ between individuals — lone soldiers come from all diaspora communities. One California-born former lone soldier I spoke to was a child of two Israeli parents. They grew up with some knowledge of Hebrew and a responsibility to the state of Israel prevalent in the household. From high school, they belonged to a group that helped to organize travel to Israel and preparation and recruitment. Another American former lone soldier described the experience of spending four months in an ulpan (Hebrew learning intensive) learning the language while another told about how a commander made anybody who spoke in English during training do a dozen push-ups. I also was told about the separation between the diasporic groups, with all the Anglophone recruits living separately from the French-speaking soldiers, who lived separately from the Slavic ones.
The process of becoming an IDF lone soldier often involves some sort of liaison in the home country, who helps connect the potential soldier with the recruitment office of the IDF and assists with preparation and securing flights. The process generally begins with potential soldiers making Aliyah to Israel, with several of those I spoke to having spent time on a kibbutz for a few months prior to beginning basic training. All of those I spoke to moved to Israel directly after high school.
A commitment to the state of Israel that motivates one to put their life on the line can come from a commitment to protect the Jewish people and make ‘never again’ a reality. One lone soldier told me of an experience meeting a shoah survivor when they were in the eighth grade being a pivotal moment in making the decision to enlist in the IDF.
Support for Israel, while an often controversial issue in the diaspora, is a central tenet to the Jewish identity of millions of Jews globally. While support for the Jewish nation-state can take on various forms, from financial support to political lobbying, a minority of diaspora Jews opt to make this commitment in the form of sacrificing two years, and possibly their lives and safety to protect the Jewish people. Other times, it can be a closeness to Israeli society passed down from Israeli-born parents. It is a long, perilous, and stressful journey that the lone soldier embarks on as an 18-year-old fresh out of high school, but for Israelis, it is simply a part of life.
