By Jacob Kamaras
LA JOLLA, California — As a student at Southern California Yeshiva (SCY) High, La Jolla native Uriel Green would often hear from alumni who returned to the school to speak to current students about their experiences living in Israel and serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Green, 19, will soon count himself among that group. On August 13, he moved to Israel as part of a flight chartered by the Aliyah organization Nefesh B’Nefesh.
Subsequently, Green will voluntarily enlist in the IDF as a lone soldier (the term for foreign soldiers without immediate family members living in Israel).
When he studied in yeshiva in Israel during his gap year, Green says that “being around my friends who were in the army, I saw how happy and fulfilled they were. That’s what I wanted for myself and eventually for my family.”
Green will be joining the IDF as part of Garin Tzabar, a program run by The Jewish Agency for Israel in partnership with the Israel Scouts movement. For Diaspora Jews (or Israelis who have lived abroad from a young age) who have chosen to move to Israel and serve in the military, Garin Tzabar provides a “home away from home” at a kibbutz, three months of Hebrew-language studies, and other benefits.
While he prepares for army service, Green will live at Kibbutz Lavi in northern Israel, located about a 10-minute drive from Tiberias.
Green also expresses gratitude for the support provided by Nefesh B’Nefesh and Sydney Smith, the Aliyah advisor who guided him throughout the process.
“My Aliyah application was so quick and Nefesh B’Nefesh was so accommodating. I’m not over-stressed about my move because they made the process very easy for me,” says Green, who has three younger siblings.
Green partially credits the “very Zionist” environment at SCY High for inspiring his Aliyah, including the school’s annual Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) ceremonies. He has two aunts who live in Ra’anana as well as cousins living in Modi’in and Jerusalem, while his parents both attended college in Israel.
Following his time in the army, Green plans to attend university and study finance. But he calls IDF service his crucial “first step” in his new country.
“When lone soldiers serve as volunteers, helping make Israel safe and an amazing place to live,” he says, “it really tells me that serving in the army is what I should be doing to be a part of the country and what I really want to be a part of.”
Founded in 2002, Nefesh B’Nefesh — in cooperation with the Israeli government and The Jewish Agency for Israel — is dedicated to revitalizing Aliyah from North America and the U.K. by removing or minimizing the financial, professional, logistical and social obstacles of Aliyah. The support and comprehensive social services provided by Nefesh B’Nefesh to its nearly 60,000 newcomers has ensured that over 90% of its Olim have remained in Israel.
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Kamaras is a freelance writer and public relations consultant.