The war in Israel succeeded in uniting all sectors, secular, religious, left and right. In addition to the government and the IDF’s activities, social organizations have been spurring an extraordinary social revolution since the beginning of the war.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were recruited from the reserves, and many thousands more from the standing army. They were sent to fight in Gaza against Hamas and on the northern border with Hezbollah.
Already in the first days of the war, when thousands were recruited within a few days, an umbrella of social organizations provided soldiers with food, clothing and equipment. Thousands of volunteers moved from base to base and distributed food and equipment to the soldiers who came with a fervent fighting spirit - but not always with winter equipment and food.
In the past months, social aid organizations have been embracing IDF soldiers and providing them with their needs.
At the top of the social organizations is an organization called Beineinu [“Between Us”], which stands at the forefront of aid and support for IDF soldiers, with an emphasis on lone soldiers who do not have a supportive family and are often completely alone.
The person who founded the organization during 2021 is Odel Peretz, who decided to dedicate her life to the lonely in Israel due to her own moving personal story. Within a few years, her organization has become a social powerhouse that operates in many arenas and during this period supports IDF soldiers.
"The lone soldiers are all our children," says Peretz. "Those who are acquainted with lone soldiers cannot help but support them. They dedicate their lives for us and we are duty bound to love them in return, and treat them like family," she adds.
She explains, "There are thousands of lone soldiers in the IDF who do not have a supportive family, and sometimes have the opposite. They are in a difficult financial situation, and on vacations they have no home to go back to. This is precisely why I founded the Beineinu organization, which in recent years has embraced thousands of soldiers," says Peretz.
"Since the war," she continues, "we have been working day and night with many volunteers who are the beautiful face of Israel and of all humanity."
Chaim is a lone soldier who has no supporting family. He had a difficult childhood and enlisting in the IDF brought him stability in life. "Despite everything," he says, "until a few months ago, I had nowhere to go on vacations from the army. And my financial situation wasn’t good either."
He recalls, "I remember a moment when I only had 30 shekels in my pocket, and I had to decide whether to buy cigarettes or food for breakfast. It's hard when you don't have close family," he says candidly. "But then I got to know the Beineinu organization and since then my life has changed. I have a loving family. I have people who embrace me and who take care of me financially and love me as well," he adds.
There are thousands of lone soldiers like Chaim in the IDF. According to the data of the defense ministry published this year, there are about 7,000 lone soldiers serving in the IDF, of which 4,372 submitted applications for army grants due to financial debts and a difficult economic situation. This is where the Beineinu organization comes into the picture, providing them with a home and their economic and social needs.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel