Israel at War
The Gun Took Ten Minutes to Return
Counted and signed for Today I turned in my gun. After 143 days of service, we gave back all of our gear. Rifles, magazines, bullets.
October 15, 2026
Counted and signed for Today I turned in my gun. After 143 days of service, we gave back all of our gear. Rifles, magazines, bullets.
The sukkah on our base went up in one afternoon. Someone hung a plastic pomegranate from the beam. Someone else taped his daughter’s drawing to
Since the October 7 war began, one video makes its way through every WhatsApp group in Israel before the High Holidays. The screen is split
People still ask me why the IDF runs short of equipment. I answered that in detail a few months back in The Donors Are the
Yesterday the Knesset passed a law freezing the arrest of Haredi draft evaders. The immunity runs until the end of November. It covers anyone who
School let out and the calendar went blank. In homes where the father is still in miluim, that blank calendar becomes a problem to solve
I am writing this from the Gaza border, in the middle of my own reserve duty. I know the call-up by heart now. The gear,
Today is Father’s Day in America. Back in the Five Towns, fathers are sleeping in. Kids are taping cards to the fridge. There will be
A soldier in my unit spent all of Shabbat sitting with something he did not know how to solve. When Shabbat ended, he messaged me.
People keep asking why we are still raising money for helmets and vests. With 100,000 troops between the Lebanon border and the Litani River alone, the answer is simple. Gear wears out, bullets destroy integrity, and this war keeps going.
I was sitting at the Yom Hazikaron ceremony in Modiin when my phone buzzed. The names were still flashing across the screen. Sons. Fathers. Brothers.
Israeli society exhales after the Iran ceasefire. The families of the north are still holding their breath. Two days ago, a ceasefire was announced between
A combat soldier in Lebanon got two days off for Pesach. He didn’t want them. We were at a hotel by the Dead Sea for
The soldiers who gave up their seders so the rest of us could have ours. You stand. The kids watch the wine to see if
My Seder was peaceful. Hers was a phone call from the border. Our Seder the other night was beautiful. The table was set. The kids