Jewish youth from around world arrive to enlist in IDF
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jewish youth from around world arrive to enlist in IDF*
Some follow in parents' footsteps, others seek to contribute to Jewish state
--YNetNews
Some followed in their parents' footsteps, others sought to contribute
to the Jewish state. Garin Tzabar is here to serve the country
Ines Ehrlich
Three weeks into the second Lebanese war with rockets raining down on
the north of the country, 130 Jewish youngsters landed at Ben Gurion
Airport in Tel Aviv. Their sole purpose was to enlist in the Israel
Defense Forces.
But Israeli reality since July 12th was much different than the scene
presented to these volunteers during the scout seminars they attended
throughout North America when they made up their minds to come to Israel.
Members of Kibbutz Yiron, one of the assigned homes for the volunteers,
had been spending the last three weeks in the bomb shelters. Their life
had come to a virtual standstill - very few people roamed the lush
grounds of the kibbutz as the Katyusha rockets whizzed by.
And so three of the four groups of idealistic youngsters were taken to
temporary hotels and youth hostels in Jerusalem to wait out the war,
while continuing their preparations for the assignment ahead.
These youngsters came to Israel through a program initiated by the
Tzofim (Israel Scouts) Movement and the IDF called Garin Tzabar. The
initiative is supported by the Ministry of Absorption and the Jewish Agency.
Born into families of Jewish and Israeli backgrounds living throughout
North America, members of Garin Tzabar aged 18 to 25 are due to be
drafted into the army in November of this year following four months of
preparations that will include touring Israel, one week of pre-military
training and a week of "Gadna".
The Jewish Agency is providing a Hebrew language Ulpan for those who
need to brush up on their Hebrew language skills.
Since Garin Tzabar's inception 15 years ago, some 900 youngsters have
come to Israel to join the army, 70 percent of who remained in Israel
after completing their service, a third were joined by their families
who came here to make aliyah.
This year's Garin comprises 130 members divided into four groups; they
will be spending the next few months including their army vacations for
the next three years at kibbutzim Yiron, Sasa, Kfar Hanasi and Ein Harod
Ichud. During their stay at these kibbutzim, each volunteer is assigned
a kibbutz family.
The 31 youngsters who comprise the "Yiron" group, half boys and half
girls, were all avid Israel supporters. They were active members of the
Israeli scout movement in Toronto, Canada, yet their reasons for wanting
to come to Israel to join Israeli army are varied.
First love killed in a terror attack
Ilan Grains, the youngest member of this group, is the son of an Israeli
father who left Israel to study in the US when he was 22, Ilan's mother
is Canadian. Ilan says he was always attached to Israel, and when he was
just five months old his father brought him here to show him off to the
family.
Ilan celebrated his Bar Mitzva at the Western Wall, after which he went
on a field trip where he met and fell in love with a beautiful young
girl, called Metzada. Ilan stayed in touch with her until, to his
absolute horror, she was killed in a terror attack.
It seems that Ilan will never completely recover from that shock. He is
intent in enlisting into an elite army unit and would like to become a
field medic. "I would rather save lives than to take lives," he says.
Eighteen-year-old Netta Sadeh, daughter of Israeli parents who left
Israel when she was 15 to live in Toronto, always knew that she would
return to Israel to do her military service. At first she considered
coming here alone, but now she is thankful that she joined the Garin
where she has met many friends in the same situation as her own.
The weeks that preceded her arrival were spent glued to CNN as she
struggled with her decision to come here during wartime. "Every news
broadcast made me change my mind, but I am really glad I decided to
come." She says.
Never took Israel's existence for granted
Canadian born Aaron Draper, 25, is the oldest member of the group. This
is his third visit to Israel – the first two were on the Birthright and
Hillel programs. Aaron says he never took Israel's existence for granted.
"If the Jewish state was around before the holocaust, it may have been
prevented." Aaron says. He decided to come here after completing his
studies as a PE instructor, and hopes that his physical condition will
help him get into the Nahal Unit as a combat soldier.
He is fully aware that his superiors will be quite a bit younger than
himself but he is not perturbed by this, "it's not a problem unless you
make it one," he says. His parents, as Aaron puts it, are proud but
apprehensive.
Getting ready
Prior to arriving in Israel, the group underwent five training seminars
in Toronto where they got a chance to deal with their own personal
dilemmas and the difficult decision of leaving their current lives
behind and joining the Israeli army. Parents partook in the fifth and
final seminar along with their children.
The weeks prior to their arrival in Israel posed many difficult
questions and could have changed their plans. A fierce war had broken
out in the north and the future was uncertain. Parents were alarmed.
But these kids are well taken care of here in Israel: They are
accompanied night and day by five staff members who take care of their
every need. Boaz Bardosh the group coordinator from Kibbutz Yiron, is
the mother and father of these kids; Lior Seidel, who spent three years
in New York as a 'shaliach' is currently the Director of Garin Tzabar at
the Israel Scouts.
According to Lior, the majority of the young men and women who have
participated in these groups are highly motivated and many of them serve
in the IDF's elite combat units, "we even have one pilot," he says
proudly, "and the army makes an extra effort to meet their assignment
requests."