lone soldier
{{Short description|Soldier without immediate family in Israel}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2012}}
File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Guarding the Horizon.jpg (IDF). The IDF's ranks include "lone soldiers" from across the world.]]
A lone soldier ({{langx|he|חַיָּל בּוֹדֵד}}, Ḥayal Boded) is a member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who does not have support in Israel, either because they do not have immediate family in Israel or they are estranged from their family in Israel. Lone soldiers serve in regular IDF units, including combat units, and receive special entitlements from the IDF, Israeli government ministries, and charity organizations, such as increased salaries, housing assistance, and additional leave. As of June 2022, there were approximately 7,000 lone soldiers from over 60 countries.
Background
Lone soldiers are generally either non-Israelis of Jewish background volunteering under the Mahal or Tzofim Garin Tzabar programmes or immigrants under the Law of Return, although other possibilities exist (e.g., orphaned natives).{{cite web
|title=Garin Tzabar Lone Soldiers Program
|publisher=Garin Tzabar |url=http://www.garintzabar.org |accessdate=19 August 2015}} According to an IDF spokeswoman, 8,217 personnel born outside Israel enlisted between 2009 and August 2012. The most represented countries of origin were Russia and the United States, with 1,685 and 1,661 recruits respectively.{{cite news
|title=Enlisting From Afar for the Love of Israel |first=Jodi
|last=Rudoren |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/world/middleeast/lone-soldiers-arrive-in-israel-to-serve-in-its-military.html?_r=1 |journal=The New York Times
|date=14 August 2012 |accessdate=15 September 2012}} As of 2025, approximately 3,500 people who made aliyah enlisted in the IDF each year.
| class="wikitable"
|+ Lone soldiers | |||
| Year | Number | Details | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2,500 | 80% from the former Soviet Union | {{cite news |last1=Kraft |first1=Dina |title=Russian American Jews pledge to help Israeli soldiers |url=https://www.jta.org/2005/12/26/lifestyle/russian-american-jews-pledge-to-help-israeli-soldiers |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2005-12-16}} |
| 2011 | 5,000 | ||
| 2014 | 2,800 | One-third from the United States and Canada | {{cite news |title=IDF adds ‘errand day’ for lone soldiers |url=https://www.jta.org/2014/05/15/israel/idf-sets-up-errand-day-for-lone-soldiers |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2014-05-15}} |
| 2022 | 7,000 | From over 60 countries | {{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-708361|title=Meet Israel's organizations helping IDF lone soldiers|website=The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com}} |
Where a soldier's parents live in Israel, but he or she is not in contact with them, it is possible for him or her to be designated an "irregular lone soldier". In early 2011, The Jerusalem Post reported that about 46% of the approximately 5,000 lone soldiers in the military at that time had family in Israel but were estranged from them.{{cite news
|title=IDF sets up lone soldiers department
|url=http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=204806
|first=Yaakov
|last=Katz
|work=The Jerusalem Post
|date=23 January 2011
|accessdate=16 September 2012}} An IDF adviser to lone soldiers told Arutz Sheva in 2012 that most of these were youths from Haredi religious backgrounds, shunned by their families for joining the army.{{cite news
|title='Lone Soldiers' in IDF Now Include Hareidi Youth
|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152322#.UFTdjo1lQXQ
|first=Tsvi
|last=Ben Gedalyahu
|location=Beit El
|work=Arutz Sheva
|date=2 January 2012
|accessdate=15 September 2012}} Irregular lone soldier status can also be given if both of an IDF soldier's parents are working abroad for the Israeli government. If a soldier marries while serving in the IDF, he or she loses lone soldier status.{{cite book
|title=Rights for Lone Soldiers Serving in the IDF (pamphlet)
|publisher=Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin
|location=Jerusalem & Tel Aviv
|year=2012}} A lone soldier's benefits are also at risk if his or her parents themselves move to Israel.{{cite news
|title=Lone soldiers' benefits said to keep parents from making aliya
|first=Boris N.
|last=Gorshkov
|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1258870591.html?dids=1258870591:1258870591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+20%2C+2007&author=BORIS+N.+GORSHKOV&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Lone+soldiers%27+benefits+said+to+keep+parents+from+making+aliya&pqatl=google
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201101755/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1258870591.html?dids=1258870591:1258870591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+20,+2007&author=BORIS+N.+GORSHKOV&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Lone+soldiers'+benefits+said+to+keep+parents+from+making+aliya&pqatl=google
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=February 1, 2013
|work=The Jerusalem Post
|page=6
|date=20 April 2007
|accessdate=15 September 2012}}
Notable lone soldiers
Michael Levin, born and raised in Pennsylvania, United States, moved to Israel in 2002, and joined the Paratroopers Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. He was killed in action during the Second Lebanon War on 1 August 2006 in the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab.{{cite news
|title=U.S. Family Lays 'Lone Soldier' Son to Rest in Israel
|first=Molly
|last=Moore
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080301539.html
|newspaper=The Washington Post
|date=4 August 2006
|accessdate=16 September 2012}} Levin's death received a great deal of attention; over 2,000 people attended his funeral on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.{{cite news
|title=A young Zionist, a lone soldier, a fallen hero
|first=Daphna
|last=Berman
|url=http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/a-young-zionist-a-lone-soldier-a-fallen-hero-1.218626
|work=Haaretz
|location=Tel Aviv
|date=20 April 2007
|accessdate=16 September 2012}} Levin had told of an idea for a center for lone soldiers which would provide them with meals, support, and advice. With the support of Tziki Aud, a Jewish Agency employee who had known Levin,{{cite web
|title=Michael Levin, z"l
|url=http://lonesoldiercenter.com/about-us/michael-levin-zl/
|publisher=Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin
|location=Jerusalem & Tel Aviv
|accessdate=16 September 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919022543/http://lonesoldiercenter.com/about-us/michael-levin-zl/
|archive-date=19 September 2012
|url-status=dead
}} a group of former lone soldiers established the Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin in 2009.{{cite web
|title=About Us
|url=http://lonesoldiercenter.com/about-us/
|publisher=Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin
|location=Jerusalem & Tel Aviv
|accessdate=16 September 2012}}
During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, three lone soldiers were killed: Max Steinberg (from Los Angeles; a sharpshooter in the Gideon Battalion of the Golani Brigade) and Sean Carmeli from the United States and Jordan Bensemhoun from France. All three were killed in the Battle of Shuja'iyya.
Benefits
Beginning in 2001, the Jewish Agency for Israel ran Keshet, which flew the parents of lone soldiers to Israel for one week.{{cite news |title=Lone soldiers’ less lonely |url=https://www.jta.org/2007/02/25/default/lone-soldiers-less-lonely |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2007-02-25}}
In December 2024, the Saban Family Lone Soldier Home planned to open in Rishon LeZion, Israel, to provide housing for more than 200 lone soldiers.{{cite news |title=State-of-the-art building for lone soldiers breaks ground in Israel |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jns/state-of-the-art-building-for-lone-soldiers-breaks-ground-in-israel/article_4e395edb-2776-50af-adca-b2a4dbb5987f.html |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Cleveland Jewish News |date=2023-09-08}} In February 2025, Nefesh B'Nefesh, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces , and Sheba Medical Center announced the launch of the Lone Soldiers Program Resilience Center at the Nefesh B'Nefesh offices in Tel Aviv. The center would provide mental health care free of charge to all international lone soldiers.{{cite news |title=New center in Israel provides support services for lone soldiers |url=https://www.jns.org/new-center-in-israel-provides-support-services-for-lone-soldiers/ |access-date=16 April 2025 |work=Jewish News Syndicate |date=2025-02-26}}
Lone soldiers receive a higher basic salary from the IDF, as well as financial assistance from the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and the Ministry of Housing and Construction. They are also given help with housing and the right to extra time off, including 30 days per year to visit family overseas.{{cite web |url=http://www.idfinfo.co.il/Lone_Soldiers_Benefits_Main.php?cat=a2 |title=Lone Soldier Benefits | IDF Info |accessdate=2013-06-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705022018/http://www.idfinfo.co.il/Lone_Soldiers_Benefits_Main.php?cat=a2 |archivedate=2013-07-05 }}
According to the Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin, a lone soldier in the Israel Defense Forces has the following rights while serving:
=Financial assistance=
| class="wikitable"
!Organization !Form of help !Notes |
| Israel Defense Forces
|Increased basic salary |Supermarket money cannot be used to buy alcohol or tobacco |
|---|
| Ministry of Immigrant Absorption
|NIS 540 per month |For olim hadashim (Jewish immigrants under the Law of Return) only; must be renewed annually |
| Ministry of Housing and Construction
|NIS 402 per month |For olim hadashim only; starts a year after arrival in Israel, and must thereafter be renewed annually |
=Help with housing=
| class="wikitable"
!Organization !Housing option !Notes |
| rowspan=2|Israel Defense Forces
|Own apartment |A lone soldier can rent his or her own apartment, and receive up to NIS 1,700 towards the rent monthly from the IDF. The original rental contract must be examined by the IDF before financial assistance can start. |
|---|
| Beit HaHayal; Soldiers' hostel
|These are free of charge and located throughout Israel. It is possible for a lone soldier to live in one from up to three months before he or she enlists. |
| Kibbutz
|Kibbutz accommodation |The IDF can help place a lone soldier on a kibbutz, which besides housing may provide assistance with errands (laundry, shopping, clerical, etc.) and a religious, cultural and social framework. |
| Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (AWIS)
|AWIS apartment |A lone soldier can request through the IDF a fully furnished, free-of-charge apartment belonging to the AWIS. Soldiers do not choose their own roommates. |
=Leave=
| class="wikitable"
!Type of leave !How often !Notes |
| Errand days
|One day every two months |A lone soldier is entitled to at least twenty four hours every two months to run personal errands, and these cannot be on a Friday, Saturday or Israeli national holiday. A soldier is entitled to one errand day every month while they are in training. |
|---|
| Parental visit
|Eight days every year |For when a lone soldier's mother or father visits Israel; Fridays and Saturdays are not included; A lone soldier may only take four days if their family visits Israel while they are in training |
| Overseas leave
|30 days per year, starting from the eighth month of service |Overseas leave dates are chosen by a lone soldier's commander. Once during a combat soldier's service, the IDF will pay for him or her to visit family abroad. |
| Leave for financial reasons
|Special dispensation |Where a lone soldier has financial difficulties, he or she may be granted time off to earn money. |
| Thanksgiving dinner
|Special dispensation |The IDF gives leave to any lone soldier who wishes to attend a Thanksgiving dinner. Dinners are organized by organizations such as Nefesh B'Nefesh, the American Jewish Committee, and the Lone Soldier Center.{{cite news |last1=Oster |first1=Marcy |title=Lone soldiers mark Thanksgiving in Israel |url=https://www.jta.org/2011/11/24/israel/lone-soldiers-mark-thanksgiving-in-israel |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2011-11-24}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
- [http://lonesoldiercenter.com/ Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin]
- [http://www.ChayalelChayal.org/ Chayal el Chayal -- The Lone Soldiers Home Away from Home]
- [http://www.garintzabar.org/ Tzofim Garin Tzabar - Lone Soldiers Program]
- [https://archive.today/20130412232630/http://lsp.nbn.org.il/index.php/en/ The FIDF/NBN Lone Soldiers Program]
- [http://www.jewishagency.org/young-aliyah/program/1341 The Jewish Agency for Israel]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121110103757/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/information/further_info/Olim/default.htm Lone soldiers at the IDF website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120125123814/http://www.awis.org.il/making_donation.html Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers]
- [https://www.fidf.org/ Friends of the Israel Defense Forces]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120830053353/http://www.heseg.com/eng.html HESEG Foundation]
- [http://www.mahal-idf-volunteers.org/ Mahal IDF Volunteers]
- [http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/never-really-a-lone/ "Lone soldiers - anything but alone"]
- [http://www.benjihillman.org/ The Benji Hillman Foundation - HaBayit shel Benji]
- [https://idfprep.org/ Lone Soldier Preparation Program at Mechinat Keshet Yehuda]
{{div col end}}
Category:Israel Defense Forces