“Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
Dear Friends,
Every year, as the High Holidays draw near, we are reminded of the sacred call to gather around the table, to remember God’s goodness, and to draw close to one another in unity and peace. But for some of Israel’s bravest young men and women, the season brings not warmth—but silence.
These are the amazing heroes “lone soldiers” of Israel—many of them not new immigrants, but native-born Israelis who have been abandoned, orphaned, or estranged from their families. They serve in the Israel Defense Forces with no mother to pack their bag, no father at their graduation, and no loved one waiting for them when they step off the bus.
Take Shlomi, for example. He grew up in an ultra-Orthodox home as one of 13 siblings. At just 14, he left due to unbearable hardship. He drifted from place to place before ending up in prison and then a rehabilitation center. There, he found a flicker of purpose—and enlisted in the IDF.
At his basic training graduation, the loneliness hit hardest. “Almost everyone has family there,” he said. “You’re standing alone, looking right and left, asking yourself: Why? I worked so hard. Don’t I deserve for someone to see that?”
And when he returned home after long stretches on base? There was no one to ask how he was doing. No one to heat up a meal. “It’s just you, God, and the crushing silence that no one is there to break.”
This is the reality for thousands of native Israeli lone soldiers today. In the worst food crisis Israel has faced in 50 years, even these young heroes struggle to put food on their tables.
At Vision for Israel, we have been supporting lone soldiers—both immigrants and native-born—for decades. As we prepare gift cards to purchase food for the High Holidays, these young men and women are among our top priorities.
Will you stand in the gap for one of Israel’s most overlooked and isolated populations? Your gift today can be a tangible sign to a lone soldier that they are not forgotten.
Help provide for lone soldiers this holiday season.
May the Lord bless you as you bless Israel’s sons and daughters in their hour of need.
With heartfelt thanks,
Barry & Batya
