Hundreds of Lone Soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units are expected to gather May 15 at Beit Hachayal in Tel Aviv for a special “Yom Sidurim.”
The initiative was organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh and Friends of the IDF (FIDF) Lone Soldiers Program, in cooperation with the IDF Manpower Branch, to facilitate the needs of IDF “lone soldiers” – young men and women who immigrate without their immediate families to serve in the IDF. Lone soldiers are eligible for a personal day every two months in order to attend to personal affairs.
“The purpose of this event is to help Lone Soldiers complete all the arrangements required of them. This initiative was launched in order to help make things easier for Lone Soldiers, and was made out of respect, and recognition of the challenges with which Lone Soldiers have to deal with on a daily basis,” said Col. Eyal Karolizki, head of the Welfare Department of the IDF Manpower Branch.
About 2,800 Lone Soldiers currently serve in the IDF including: 890 from the United States, 404 from Russia, 264 from Ukraine, 165 from France, 79 from Canada, 78 from Britain, 59 from Belarus, 40 from Moldova, 37 from Australia, 37 from South Africa, 34 from Kazakhstan, 29 from Uzbekistan, 28 from Argentina, 26 from Brazil, 25 from Mexico, 21 from Colombia, 20 from Germany, 20 from Italy, 20 from Azerbaijan, 14 from Holland, 14 from Venezuela, 12 from Georgia, 12 from Belgium, 11 from Uruguay, 9 from Spain, 9 from Peru, 8 from Guatemala, 6 from Hungary, 5 from Sweden, and soldiers from dozens of other countries such as Armenia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania , Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan.
“We are extremely excited to be joining forces with all of our partners in creating this one-stop shop for our dedicated Lone Soldiers,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “Every single soldier is a source of pride and inspiration for us, and it is our duty to do all we can to make their army service and Aliyah easier for them.”