Defenders of the land

Five soldiers from diverse backgrounds talk about their experience in the army and their connection to Israel.

By ARSEN OSTROVSKY
IDF Soldier 370 (photo credit: courtesy)
IDF Soldier 370
(photo credit: courtesy)
Perhaps no other day leaves a more indelible mark on the collective psyche of the Israeli public than Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers. The IDF is no ordinary army. It is a special club that goes to the very core of what it means to be Israeli, to be part of this society.
At an age when most teenagers are getting ready to go off to university or travel abroad, Israeli citizens devote two to three years of their lives to defending and protecting their country.
Hardly a single person or family has not been affected.
A husband, a son, a brother, a daughter, a sister or friend – everyone has lost someone or knew someone who fell.
Earlier this week, while in Auschwitz-Birkenau for the March of the Living, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen.
Benny Gantz (whose mother is a Holocaust survivor) said: “The State of Israel is the security that an atrocity like this will not happen again,” before adding “the IDF is the shield for the national home – the safe haven for the Jewish people.”
It is no coincidence that Remembrance Day falls between Holocaust Remembrance Day and Independence Day, immediately following. All three days are inherently intertwined with the history of our people and this nation.
Had there been a State of Israel and an IDF before World War II, the catastrophe of the Shoah would have undoubtedly been avoided. Today, the IDF is, as Gantz noted, a permanent shield to ensure that an atrocity like this will never happen again. At the same time, without the sorrow and grief of Remembrance Day, we would not be able to rejoice in the happiness and celebration of Independence Day. Regrettably, this is the sacrifice we pay.
This article is a tribute to all the brave men and women of the IDF who risk their lives each day so that we can enjoy the taste of freedom and liberty.
It is also an endeavour to highlight the incredibly rich, diverse and multifaceted face of the IDF, that includes combat soldiers, immigrants who made aliya just to serve in the army, women, the ultra-Orthodox, the Druse, and many others. Each and every one is a hero.RAN BAR-YOSHAFAT
Ran Bar-Yoshafat, who grew up in Ramat Hasharon, is a commander in the fabled Maglan division, an elite special forces unit made famous in large part by the current Bayit Yehudi party leader, economy and trade minister Naftali Bennett, who also served as a commander there. At 29, Bar-Yoshafat is more accomplished than most.
A practising lawyer (who worked in the legal department in the Knesset), an MBA student at Tel Aviv University, an educator, counselor, volunteer, national mixed martial arts champion and fellow in the prestigious StandWithUs Fellowship program, he’s also travelled the world advocating on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. Yet the achievement he is proudest of is his time in the IDF.
Bar-Yoshafat did his army service from 2002 to 2005, at the height of the second intifada, and does reserve duty each year.
In 2006, after having been discharged from the IDF, he was working as a camp counselor for the Jewish Agency in Atlanta, Georgia, when the Second Lebanon War broke out. He had gone there because of his deep commitment to “helping connect Jews from the Diaspora and Israel,” adding “we have to take care of Jews outside of Israel.”
Even though he wasn’t called up to serve, Bar- Yoshafat dropped everything and decided to get on the first plane to Israel to join his unit.
“You just feel for your country; I felt powerless and out of place, especially when Israel was at war and I was so far away” he said.
He is also a direct testament to the morality of the IDF. As a combat soldier, especially during the second intifada, his “day job” was quite literally to capture terrorists. Bar-Yoshafat would always put his own life on the line to avoid endangering Palestinian civilians.
He carries on him at all times a list of comrades who have died in battle, including when and how they fell.
“At first I thought ‘well, I’d just remember them all,’ but then there were just too many” he says. The list is now up to 20.
For Bar-Yoshafat, who considers the IDF “an absolute necessity” and something that “teaches you more than anything else about life,” Remembrance Day is the holiest day of the year.
“I serve because I understand I save the lives of my friends, my family and my countrymen,” he says.
However, Bar-Yoshafat is far too humble to admit he is in many ways a modern- day hero and ultimate embodiment of the Zionist spirit, as envisaged by our founding fathers.
Currently a project manager at the Israeli-Jewish Congress, Bar-Yoshafat does what he loves best: advocating for the State or Israel and connecting Jews from around the word to their homeland...
while still serving in the reserves.
BEN LANG
At 18, most teenagers are preoccupied with parties and college applications. Not Ben Lang.
By the time he turned 18, this New York native was working in Silicon Valley, where he had already created three Internet start-ups, the first of which, an on-line business through e-Bay, he created at age 14.
So, one might be forgiven for asking what this start-up whiz-kid was thinking giving up a comfortable life in sunny California to make aliya to join the IDF.
But Lang is a passionate Zionist, who lived in Israel during ninth grade. He recalls how he loved everything about the country, “The people, food, atmosphere, everything.” So, he decided to make aliya right after high school to join the IDF, and finally did so in September 2011, through Nefesh B’Nefesh.
When asked what made him put on hold an otherwise comfortable and lucrative career overseas to join the IDF, he says “I still have my whole life in front of me, but I felt a necessity to give back to Israel.” He adds, “knowing I wanted to live here, I didn’t want to do so without giving something back and going to the army like everyone else.”
It is no surprise then, that the Intelligence division welcomed Lang with open arms, where no doubt he is able to utilize his skills and knowledge in “helping defend and support Israel.”
However, Lang is not prepared to rest on his laurels. In between serving in the army, he has managed to find time to contribute to the popular hi-tech websites TechCrunch and Mashable, organize several events in Tel Aviv designed to highlight Israel’s dynamic start-up and hi-tech industry. And yes, he also already created a few local startups of his own, including the popular “Israeli Start-Up Map,” a graphic illustration of where local start-ups are located, who runs them and what they do, which he says “I created in one day when I was home from the army.”
Lang is both the future of the “startup nation” and the new tech-savvy IDF.
Looking ahead, he says quite simply, “I want to create a start-up that changes the world.” For now, he’s got a few more years of army service left, but judging by his incredible success to date, as well as his passion and commitment, we’re in for one exciting future!
LITAL SHEMESH
For those seeking evidence that the “sky is the limit” for women in the IDF, look no further than Lital Shemesh.
Shemesh, who has just turned 30, served in the IDF Border Police division between 2002 and 2005, during the peak of the second intifada, but not in any ordinary role: she served as a full combat soldier, stationed primarily at checkpoints across the country, something very unusual for a woman. In fact, she was one of only five women in a unit with roughly 100 men.
At first, Shemesh was assigned to Intelligence, but “insisted” on serving in a full combat role.
“It was very important for me to do meaningful service and to contribute as much as I can,” says Shemesh, adding “I wanted the real deal. I didn’t want to serve coffee, I wanted to serve.”
During her time, Shemesh served throughout the country, in a different location almost every day. Being the peak of the second intifada, it was an especially difficult and dangerous time, she recalls, with at least two suicide attacks per week. One such attack was the 2002 Netanya Passover massacre, in which 30 people were killed and over 140 wounded. Shemesh’s unit was one of the first to arrive on the scene the morning after the attack, and the devastating carnage is still etched in her mind.
She also served in the West Bank, including Hebron, at a particularly dangerous time, during which she “always felt my life was at risk. When you arrive at a dark alley at night for an operation, you have to be prepared that someone can shoot at you at any moment.”
She also had to deal with a lot of riots, and in particular Palestinians throwing rocks at her. At a time when there is a lot of discussion about Palestinian stone-throwers, Shemesh points out, “although some people think these are small stones, they are not,” cautioning “these are rocks that can kill you.”
On the subject of being a female combat soldier, Shemesh says she was treated just like any soldier, including her male counterparts, the “same missions, same training, same equality.”
To her, Remembrance Day is “the saddest day of the year,” and a time to “remember friends and family who died for a cause so that we can have a peaceful and normal life in Israel.”
But the army is also a very rewarding experience, she notes, which despite the many challenges, allows you to “contribute to society in a meaningful way, while also creating a life-long bond with your fellow soldiers, who remain friends for life.”
Following her army service, Shemesh traveled across campuses in the United States, as part of the StandWithUs “Israeli Soldier Stories” program, giving a human face to the IDF.
Shemesh is now a successful video journalist with Israel Hayom covering news and entertainment, but says “I still miss the army. A lot.” She is proud, though, to continue service in the reserves.
AVRAHAM HASIDA
At a time when there is increasing debate about the role of haredim (the ultra-Orthodox) in the army, Sgt. Avraham Hasida, 33, serves as a role model and inspiration to his community and his country.
Hasida is a haredi man who despite being exempt nonetheless served in the IDF from 2001 to 2004.
He completed his service in the IDF Education Corps, where was sent to teach 12- to 15-year-olds at schools throughout the country a range of elementary subjects, including geography, accounting and science. Many of the schools were on the social periphery, while Avraham also specialized in assisting kids with learning difficulties.
During his time in the IDF, Hasida also volunteered in ZAKA rescue and recovery organization, made up of predominantly Orthodox Jews) and Magen David Adom, at the same time also continuing his Torah study.
Asked why he decided to serve in the army, even though he was exempt, Hasida says “it was important for me to be like everyone else and to fit into society.” He says “there are many good people in the army” and “I’m sure it was the right decision, which has allowed me to gain a broader perspective on society and has also helped me in my religious life and studies.”
Importantly, Hasida says that before the IDF, he belonged to a very closedoff group and “didn’t know how other people look and think... I thought they hated me and didn’t want to know my ideas or where I came from, but in the army I learned every group has to learn about the other group.”
He is proud of his time in the IDF, especially because he says “the army gave me the chance to understand the other side and for them to know about me.”
Today, Hasida continues to serve in the reserves, where he performs as a cantor, including during memorial services on Remembrance Day.
SHUKI HASSON
Soldier, officer, Druse, Zionist, Israeli. Meet 24-year-old Shuki Hasson.
Born to a “military bereaved family” on top of “paradise” (Daliat al-Carmel), Hasson was destined for a career in the IDF, not because he was Druse, but because he says “I am Israeli and this is my country.”
He commenced his army service in 2007 as a translator for the Military Courts in Judea and Samaria. He then served in the IDF Spokesman’s Unit and in the foreign affairs section of the IDF Personnel Directorate.
After completing his mandatory three-year service in the IDF, Hasson stayed on for an additional year of officer’s training before being discharged in 2011 with the rank of lieutenant.
The experience that undoubtedly left the most indelible mark on Hasson occurred during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December 2008.
He had just finished his officer’s course the day before the war officially broke out. At that time, he was serving as spokesman and foreign affairs officer in the IDF Personnel Directorate. The next day, Hasson would be presented with his first official task – to deliver a “killed in action” message to the media, for one of the first Israeli casualties of the war. But this was no ordinary casualty; it was Hasson’s cousin.
Although the Druse are a religious minority in Israel, they are among the most loyal citizens and have one of the highest rates of IDF service of any community.
Notwithstanding, Hasson sees himself first and foremost as “an Israeli.”
Asked if he was ever treated, or felt, different in the army because of his Druse background, he says “I never in my life had an experience of feeling different to any other Israeli, whether that be in civilian life or the IDF.”
Hasson is also a firm believer in the central importance of the IDF in society, saying it helps “develop leadership skills, is a place where you learn to care more about people and contributes to one’s broader life experience.” It is also “the single most important integrator into Israeli society,” he adds.
For Hasson, Remembrance Day is an especially solemn day not just because he has lost so many family members and friends, but because it is a day when the entire nation stops to remember these fallen soldiers, reinforcing for him that “regardless of religion or background, this is everybody’s day.”
Today, Hasson is studying architecture in New York, but says “Israel is never far from my heart.” Even though he doesn’t have to, he returns at least twice a year to perform reserve duty, because “I love my unit, I love the soldiers I work with and I love my country. I don’t want to lose that.”