Q&A with a Brazilian lone soldier

"Being away from home for so long, every day hearing that people I knew were injured or killed, including from my own regiment. That was very hard."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Brazilian-born Renato Nasser moved to Israel and serves in the IDF (photo credit: IDF)
Brazilian-born Renato Nasser moved to Israel and serves in the IDF
(photo credit: IDF)
Twenty-four-year-old Brazilian-born Renato Nasser moved to Israel in August 2012 and just under a year later joined the IDF to serve as a combat soldier in Givati. He speaks with The Jerusalem Post about what led him to make these life choices and how he feels as he approaches the end of his year-and-a-half-long army service.
Why did you decide to move to Israel?
I came to Israel twice on two different programs: once where we spent a week in Poland and a week in Israel; and then a five-month Jewish Agency program where I spent two month son kibbutz, two months volunteering in Tel Aviv and one month in Eilat doing a diving course. After I returned to Brazil, every time I went to sleep, Israel was in my head. I kept thinking how much fun it would be to live here and I had three friends who made aliya (immigrated to Israel) around the same time. So I decided to start the process. I didn't tell my parents until I knew for sure that the paperwork had been approved etc.
How did your parents feel about the decision?
At first they found it very hard and told me “you don’t love us, you want to leave us,” until they understood that it wasn’t connected to them, that I wanted to do something else.
Why did you decide to join the IDF?
Because of my age I only had to do six months, but at my ulpan in Maagan Michael I spoke to lots of people about the army, and almost everyone at my ulpan was going to combat. And I also felt that Israel had given me so much and the best way to give back was to go to combat. So I decided to do a year-and-a-half service. And I went to Givati.
Why Givati?
I had a friend in tzanchanim (paratroopers) and I didn’t know a lot about the army or any other soldiers. And he told me not to go to tzanchanim and also I didn’t really fancy parachuting. And in Golani I hear there were lots of arsim - I don’t know if it’s true or not. So Nachal and Givati were left, so I went to Givati.
How did your parents feel?
They went crazy - they wanted to kill me. But now they have got used to it and they are proud of me.
What the hardest period for you?
The day that we completed out masa kumta (beret march), we reached the end point of the long journey at 3  a.m. It was freezing cold; it was January. It was so cold we could barely move, and we didn’t have any winter coats with us or anything. It was one of the hardest nights I had in the army.
Also, during Operation Protective Edge, being away from home for so long, every day hearing that people I knew were injured or killed, including from my own regiment. That was very hard. Even when I did go home, I couldn’t see my family (as they are in Brazil) I took a shower and went back to the base.
What do you want to do next?
I want to go home to Brazil and be with my parents a bit. And I want to study to be a moreh derech (tour guide) and to learn another language. And I almost definitely want to come back to Israel.