Last Sunday, in a warm and intimate gathering at the home of Emily and Ari Rasekh in New Rochelle, a profound story of courage and resilience took center stage. The morning’s featured guest was Major Sagi Dovev, a close combat and resilience trainer who founded SORTeam, an organization that builds resilience for amputee soldiers in Israel.
Ari Rasekh welcomed the audience, playfully noting that while he would have gladly introduced Major Dovev himself, his wife deemed it more fitting to have “someone a little cooler, maybe a little funnier” do the honors. Enter Michael Rapaport, the well-known actor and comedian who, since the latest conflict erupted in Israel, has emerged as a fervent advocate for the Jewish people.
With heartfelt sincerity, Rapaport reflected on the inspiration he drew from Dovev’s tireless efforts. “The way Sagi trains these injured soldiers to reclaim their lives is nothing short of miraculous,” he began. He recalled his first meeting with him in October, when he watched Dovev training amputees, and was taken aback by the joy emanating from the hospital and rehab rooms despite the immense physical challenges these young soldiers suddenly faced.
Rapaport told an emotional story of a soldier named Mikhael who, after suffering a tactical injury in Gaza, was determined to return to his unit. “He shared a Hamas propaganda video with me that showed his commander and himself getting hit,” Rapaport recounted. “He said, ‘In their video, they said that we both got killed. But we didn’t! Can you help me show the world that we are alive?’ It took my breath away. That day was extremely emotional, and it put a lot of things in perspective for me. We talk about warriors and about people doing things but Sagi Dovev is truly doing things with people that are the most injured but the most alive. The spirit that he brings and that they have is amazing.”
As Dovev took the floor, he shared his background. He retired two years ago as the head of close combat training in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit of the IDF. He shared his insights into teaching resilience—teaching not just physical skills but also mental fortitude.
Dovev recalled the harrowing events of October 7, 2023, when he found himself racing toward battle, fully aware of the madness unfolding. “My unit lost 10 soldiers that day,” he said.
Through his new foundation, SORTeam (Special Operations Resilience Team), Dovev has been training soldiers to not only survive but to thrive despite their injuries. He spoke about survivors like Dor Almog. Almog is a young soldier who was the only survivor of the tragic incident last January, when a building in Gaza collapsed, killing the other 21 IDF soldiers inside it.
“Eventually, when he came to Sheba Hospital, he saw me training, and he said, ‘Sagi, can you train me?’ I saw the condition he was in, and I said, ‘You know what? You’ll sit in your wheelchair. You’re going to punch air for one minute today. We will take it one day at a time.’ Almog said, ‘No way. I’m standing up, I’m putting on gloves, I’m fighting. I’m a fighter. That’s what I do.’ And he did.” Almog’s doctors told Dovev that they had never seen such a miraculous recovery.
Among those touched by Dovev’s approach was Maya Regev, a hostage from the Nova music festival. She had been shot several times in her leg, and a veterinarian in Gaza attached her leg to her side in Gaza. Regev was released from Gaza after 51 days during the November 2023 hostage deal.
“When she got to Sheba hospital where I train, she found me and asked me to train her. Now I’m the resilience trainer but she taught me that when you’re at the lowest point, the bottom, that’s precisely when you need to build your resilience back. What a Wonder Woman. A real one. Not Hollywood. I trained Maya. She embodies the Israeli woman’s resilience and spirit. She’s unstoppable.” Dovev proudly showcased her tenacity through video clips, demonstrating her indomitable spirit as she trained and boxed with him while severely injured.
Dovev then introduced Boris, a 28-year-old former bodyguard to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who lost his leg while serving in Gaza. Boris, equipped with a prosthetic leg, talked about how training with Dovev helped him reclaim his identity.
After walking into a booby-trapped tunnel in Gaza with his Duvdevan unit, Boris was in a coma for five days. When he awoke, his mother had to explain to him that his leg had had to be amputated to save his life. “What a new reality that was,” said Boris. “I had been in the IDF’s Special Forces, I had been Benjamin Netanyahu’s bodyguard! And now I was in a wheelchair, and my father had to help me shower? I thought to myself, ‘I need to train again, to be able to hike, swim, travel and fight. Sagi trained me with krav maga, and made me feel like a man again.”
As the gathering reached its close, Dovev reminded those in attendance that resilience is not simply a word but a truth rooted in the Jewish experience. “I want to mention the resilience of our nation. Resilience is built by hardships, which the Jewish people have had plenty of. We manage through them all. This is the second War of Independence for us. It will be OK because of our heroes. Heroes that protect the country, the Jewish people, and the Western world. We will get through this crisis. We are a nation of heroes, of warriors, of resilience.”
To learn more or to donate, please visit: https://www.cojonc.org/sagi
