It was a lesson on passion, faith and peoplehood as students in the JEC’s two high schools, Bruriah and the Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy, welcomed 10 English speaking representatives from the IDF last Friday. The group was visiting the United States in a bid to raise awareness of the high moral standards that characterize the Israeli military and bolster the advocacy efforts by the Jewish community in general and students in particular, on behalf of the Jewish State.

The group began with Bruriah and later visited RTMA, sharing stories of their military experiences and the most valuable life lessons that they had gleaned during their service. One by one they urged students to proactively seek out the truth and not to blindly believe what is being reported about Israel and the IDF in the general media, which often spreads damaging misinformation.

Students on both campuses were gripped by the harrowing stories of split-second decision-making that the young men and women were sometimes forced to make during their military service. As one soldier shared, “Although Hamas celebrates death, we as Jews celebrate life, and our Jewish neshamot would not allow us to harm women and children, or innocent civilians.”

The JEC has a long tradition of alumni serving in the IDF, dating back to the 1960s, and there are currently six graduates of the school actively serving in the Israeli military. Our thoughts and tefillot are with them and all of our chayalim.