When the War Follows Them Home
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, the briefings, the weeks away from my wife and my three kids, the quiet drive back to base after a Shabbat at home. I know the men around me. Most […]
The Soldiers in My Unit Are Quietly Going Broke
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. He asked me to keep it between us. His bank account had been frozen over a credit card debt he had been trying to outrun. He was down to nothing. […]
The Mysterious Case of the Recurring Gear Request
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.
Preparing for the Unknown
The job of a Rasap is half logistics, half fortune-telling. You plan for the event tonight and the war that might start tomorrow. I got promoted recently. Rasap of my unit. Logistics Officer. The title sounds administrative until you realize what the job actually involves. My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since the appointment went through. […]
A Lot of Good Men
The IDF succeeds because of its soldiers. Often despite the army itself. The biggest thing I learned in three months of service is something most Israelis already know but rarely say out loud: the IDF works because of the people inside it, not because of the institution around them. The Gap Between the System and […]
From the Front Lines: A Soldier’s Perspective
What three months near Gaza taught me about the war most people only read about. Our base sat 50 meters from the Gaza border, right by the entrance to the Nitzarim Corridor. Close enough to hear what was happening on the other side. Close enough that nobody forgot why we were there. I spent about […]