{{pp|small=yes}} {{Short description|Soldier without immediate family in Israel}} {{Use American English|date=September 2012}} [[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Guarding the Horizon.jpg|thumb|A soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF's ranks include "lone soldiers" from across the world.]] A '''lone soldier''' ({{langx|he|חַיָּל בּוֹדֵד}}, ''Ḥayal Boded'') is a member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who does not have support in Israel, either because they do not have immediate family in Israel or they are estranged from their family in Israel. Lone soldiers serve in regular IDF units, including combat units, and receive special entitlements from the IDF, Israeli government ministries, and charity organizations, such as increased salaries, housing assistance, and additional leave.<ref name="rudoren14aug12" /> As of June 2022, there were approximately 7,000 lone soldiers from over 60 countries.
==Background== Lone soldiers are generally either non-Israelis of Jewish background volunteering under the Mahal or Tzofim Garin Tzabar programmes or immigrants under the Law of Return, although other possibilities exist (''e.g.'', orphaned natives).<ref name=garintzabar>{{cite web |title=Garin Tzabar Lone Soldiers Program |publisher=Garin Tzabar |url=http://www.garintzabar.org |accessdate=19 August 2015}}</ref> According to an IDF spokeswoman, 8,217 personnel born outside Israel enlisted between 2009 and August 2012. The most represented countries of origin were Russia and the United States, with 1,685 and 1,661 recruits respectively.<ref name=rudoren14aug12>{{cite news |title=Enlisting From Afar for the Love of Israel |first=Jodi |last=Rudoren |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/world/middleeast/lone-soldiers-arrive-in-israel-to-serve-in-its-military.html?_r=1 |journal=The New York Times |date=14 August 2012 |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> As of 2025, approximately 3,500 people who made ''aliyah'' enlisted in the IDF each year.<ref name="ResilienceCenter" />
{| class="wikitable" |+ Lone soldiers |- ! Year !! Number !! Details !! References |- | 2005 || 2,500 || 80% from the former Soviet Union || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Kraft |first1=Dina |title=Russian American Jews pledge to help Israeli soldiers |url=https://www.jta.org/2005/12/26/lifestyle/russian-american-jews-pledge-to-help-israeli-soldiers |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2005-12-16}}</ref> |- | 2011 || 5,000 || || <ref name ="Estranged" /> |- | 2014 || 2,800 || One-third from the United States and Canada, of the 5,100 immigrants in the IDF || <ref>{{cite news |title=IDF adds ‘errand day’ for lone soldiers |url=https://www.jta.org/2014/05/15/israel/idf-sets-up-errand-day-for-lone-soldiers |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2014-05-15}}</ref><ref name="Prusher" /> |- | 2022|| 7,000 || From over 60 countries || <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-708361|title=Meet Israel's organizations helping IDF lone soldiers|website=The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com}}</ref> |}
Where a soldier's parents live in Israel, but he or she is not in contact with them, it is possible for him or her to be designated an "irregular lone soldier".<ref name=lsc2012/> In early 2011, ''The Jerusalem Post'' reported that about 46% of the approximately 5,000 lone soldiers in the military at that time had family in Israel but were estranged from them.<ref name ="Estranged">{{cite news |title=IDF sets up lone soldiers department |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=204806 |first=Yaakov |last=Katz |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=23 January 2011 |accessdate=16 September 2012}}</ref> An IDF adviser to lone soldiers told ''Arutz Sheva'' in 2012 that most of these were youths from Haredi religious backgrounds, shunned by their families for joining the army.<ref>{{cite news |title='Lone Soldiers' in IDF Now Include Hareidi Youth |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152322#.UFTdjo1lQXQ |first=Tsvi |last=Ben Gedalyahu |location=Beit El |work=Arutz Sheva |date=2 January 2012 |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> Irregular lone soldier status can also be given if both of an IDF soldier's parents are working abroad for the Israeli government.<ref name=lsc2012/> If a soldier marries while serving in the IDF, he or she loses lone soldier status.<ref name=lsc2012>{{cite book |title=Rights for Lone Soldiers Serving in the IDF ''(pamphlet)'' |publisher=Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin |location=Jerusalem & Tel Aviv |year=2012}}</ref> A lone soldier's benefits are also at risk if his or her parents themselves move to Israel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lone soldiers' benefits said to keep parents from making aliya |first=Boris N. |last=Gorshkov |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1258870591.html?dids=1258870591:1258870591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+20%2C+2007&author=BORIS+N.+GORSHKOV&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Lone+soldiers%27+benefits+said+to+keep+parents+from+making+aliya&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201101755/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1258870591.html?dids=1258870591:1258870591&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+20,+2007&author=BORIS+N.+GORSHKOV&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Lone+soldiers'+benefits+said+to+keep+parents+from+making+aliya&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |work=The Jerusalem Post |page=6 |date=20 April 2007 |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref>
==Notable lone soldiers==
* Michael Levin, born and raised in Pennsylvania, United States, moved to Israel in 2002, and joined the Paratroopers Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. He was killed in action during the Second Lebanon War on 1 August 2006 in the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab.<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. Family Lays 'Lone Soldier' Son to Rest in Israel |first=Molly |last=Moore |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080301539.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=4 August 2006 |accessdate=16 September 2012}}</ref> Levin's death received a great deal of attention; over 2,000 people attended his funeral on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite news |title=A young Zionist, a lone soldier, a fallen hero |first=Daphna |last=Berman |url=https://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/a-young-zionist-a-lone-soldier-a-fallen-hero-1.218626 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413164747/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/a-young-zionist-a-lone-soldier-a-fallen-hero-1.218626 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |work=Haaretz |location=Tel Aviv |date=20 April 2007 |accessdate=16 September 2012}}</ref> Levin had told of an idea for a center for lone soldiers which would provide them with meals, support, and advice. With the support of Tziki Aud, a Jewish Agency employee who had known Levin,<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Levin, z"l |url=http://lonesoldiercenter.com/about-us/michael-levin-zl/ |publisher=Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin |location=Jerusalem & Tel Aviv |accessdate=16 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919022543/http://lonesoldiercenter.com/about-us/michael-levin-zl/ |archive-date=19 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a group of former lone soldiers established the Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://lonesoldiercenter.com/about-us/ |publisher=Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin |location=Jerusalem & Tel Aviv |accessdate=16 September 2012}}</ref>
* Max Steinberg, Sean Carmeli, and Jordan Bensemhoun, killed in the Battle of Shuja'iyya during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict<ref name="Prusher">{{cite news |last1=Prusher |first1=Ilene |title=The Immigrant Soldiers Dying for Israel in Gaza |url=https://time.com/3021770/israel-gaza-idf-lone-soldiers-max-steinberg/ |access-date=30 April 2025 |work=Time Magazine |date=2014-07-23}}</ref> * Edan Alexander and Omer Neutra, taken hostage during the October 7 attacks<ref>{{cite news |title=Honoring the fallen: Lone soldiers remembered in Jerusalem ceremony |url=https://www.jns.org/honoring-the-fallen-lone-soldiers-remembered-in-jerusalem-ceremony/ |access-date=30 April 2025 |work=Jewish News Syndicate |date=2025-04-30}}</ref> * Jeffrey Goldberg, American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bronner |first1=Ethan |date=28 October 2006 |title=Israel and Palestine Explored in an Unlikely Friendship |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/books/israel-and-palestine-explored-in-an-unlikely-friendship.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref> * Gil Hoffman, Israeli-American journalist and political correspondent for ''HonestReporting''<ref>{{cite web |title=Smooth Sailing in Israel – Ida Crown Jewish Academy |url=https://www.icja.org/smooth-sailing-in-israel/ |website=www.icja.org}}</ref>
==Benefits== Beginning in 2001, the Jewish Agency for Israel ran Keshet, which flew the parents of lone soldiers to Israel for one week.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lone soldiers’ less lonely |url=https://www.jta.org/2007/02/25/default/lone-soldiers-less-lonely |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2007-02-25}}</ref>
By 2014, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration allocated approximately $5 million to support immigrants in the IDF.<ref name="Prusher" />
In December 2024, the Saban Family Lone Soldier Home planned to open in Rishon LeZion, Israel, to provide housing for more than 200 lone soldiers.<ref>{{cite news |title=State-of-the-art building for lone soldiers breaks ground in Israel |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jns/state-of-the-art-building-for-lone-soldiers-breaks-ground-in-israel/article_4e395edb-2776-50af-adca-b2a4dbb5987f.html |access-date=15 September 2023 |work=Cleveland Jewish News |date=2023-09-08}}</ref> In February 2025, Nefesh B'Nefesh, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and Sheba Medical Center announced the launch of the Lone Soldiers Program Resilience Center at the Nefesh B'Nefesh offices in Tel Aviv. The center would provide mental health care free of charge to all international lone soldiers.<ref name="ResilienceCenter">{{cite news |title=New center in Israel provides support services for lone soldiers |url=https://www.jns.org/new-center-in-israel-provides-support-services-for-lone-soldiers/ |access-date=16 April 2025 |work=Jewish News Syndicate |date=2025-02-26}}</ref>
== Criticism == In February 2025, Canadian news website ''The Maple's'' opinion editor Davide Mastracci launched Find IDF Soldiers, a website compiling publicly available information about Canadian lone soldiers in the IDF.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rothman |first=Jonathan |date=2025-03-10 |title=Canadian veterans of the IDF profiled by an anti-Israel website are considering a class-action lawsuit |url=https://thecjn.ca/news/find-idf-soldiers/ |access-date=2026-05-20 |website=The Canadian Jewish News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-12-10 |title=Canadian IDF soldiers doxed with synagogue, school location {{!}} The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-879808 |access-date=2026-05-20 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news |last=Eichner |first=Itamar |last2=Eichner |first2=Itamar |date=2025-02-25 |title=Canadian website publishes names, bios of citizens who served in IDF |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/sjfkj5o5je |access-date=2026-05-20 |work=Ynetglobal |language=en}}</ref>The list's publication was condemned by Israel's consul-general in Montreal.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2025-03-10/ty-article/.premium/we-know-what-jew-lists-mean-canadian-idf-database-sparks-alarm-in-jewish-community/00000195-7bf5-d0f8-a1f7-7ff777dc0000 haaretz.com]</ref> Mastracci subsequently launched a website highlighting what role Canadian instititions might play in promoting the IDF and Israel, "GTA [<nowiki/>Greater Toronto Area] to IDF".<ref name=":0" /> Following a June 2025 announcement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police into "matters related to the Israel-Hamas armed conflict," with the possibility of uncovering "a perpetrator of core international crimes — such as genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity," Canadian soldiers serving in the IDF listed on the Find IDF Soldiers website sought legal assistance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Karmel |first=Ariela |date=2025-07-20 |title=‘I’m afraid to go home’: Canadian IDF soldiers fear fallout from war crimes probe |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/im-afraid-to-go-home-canadian-idf-soldiers-fear-fallout-from-war-crimes-probe/ |access-date=2026-05-20 |work=The Times of Israel |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>
In July 2025, American conservative media personality Tucker Carlson called for Americans who serve in the IDF to have their citizenship stripped due to concerns of dual loyalty.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Kornbluh |first=Jacob |date=2025-07-13 |title=Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army |url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/754885/tucker-carlson-israel-epstein/ |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref> In a speech at Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, Carlson said "There are a lot of Americans who've served in the IDF — they should lose their citizenship," adding, "you can't fight for another country and remain an American, period."<ref name=":3" />
In September 2025, ''The Guardian'' published an investigation showing American-born IDF lone soldier Daniel Raab shot and killed 19-year-old Salem Doghmosh on November 22, 2023.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last1=Osman |first1=Hoda |last2=Graham-Harrison |first2=Emma |date=2025-09-09 |title=The Gaza family torn apart by IDF snipers from Chicago and Munich |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/09/the-gaza-family-torn-apart-by-idf-snipers-from-chicago-and-munich |access-date=2025-10-19 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Issa |first=Nader |date=2025-09-12 |title=Israeli military sniper from Chicago suburbs killed apparently unarmed man in Gaza, investigation finds |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/09/12/suburban-chicago-man-named-as-israeli-sniper-that-killed-apparently-unarmed-man-in-gaza-report |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}}</ref> Salem was unarmed and Raab noted he shot him because he was trying to retrieve the body of his older brother Mohammed.<ref name=":12" /> On September 11, 2025, the Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR‑Chicago) issued a statement demanding the US Department of Justice open a criminal investigation under the War Crimes Act against Raab.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CAIR-Chicago Urges DOJ to File War Crime Charges Against Naperville Man Who Joined IDF, Admitted Sniping Children |url=https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-chicago-urges-doj-to-file-war-crime-charges-against-naperville-man-who-joined-idf-admitted-sniping-children/ |access-date=2025-10-19 |language=en-US}}</ref> Raab was a member of the 9th Platoon of the Auxiliary Company of the 202nd Battalion of the Israeli army's Paratrooper Brigade, also known as the Ghost Unit, an elite 21-member unit of snipers active during the Gaza War.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unit |first=Al Jazeera Investigative |title=What did Al Jazeera's investigation into Israeli war crimes in Gaza reveal? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/3/what-did-al-jazeeras-investigation-into-israeli-war-crimes-in-gaza-reveal |access-date=2025-10-19 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite news |date=2025-07-01 |title=Complaint filed against two French-Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in Gaza |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/07/01/complaint-filed-against-two-french-israeli-soldiers-accused-of-war-crimes-in-gaza_6742903_7.html |access-date=2025-10-19 |language=en}}</ref> Many members of the unit are dual nationals of Israel and other countries.<ref name=":12" />
== See also ==
* List of Americans in the Israel Defense Forces
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}} *[http://lonesoldiercenter.com/ Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin] *[http://www.ChayalelChayal.org/ Chayal el Chayal -- The Lone Soldiers Home Away from Home] *[http://www.garintzabar.org/ Tzofim Garin Tzabar - Lone Soldiers Program] *[https://archive.today/20130412232630/http://lsp.nbn.org.il/index.php/en/ The FIDF/NBN Lone Soldiers Program] *[http://www.jewishagency.org/young-aliyah/program/1341 The Jewish Agency for Israel] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20121110103757/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/information/further_info/Olim/default.htm Lone soldiers at the IDF website] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120125123814/http://www.awis.org.il/making_donation.html Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers] *[https://www.fidf.org/ Friends of the Israel Defense Forces] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120830053353/http://www.heseg.com/eng.html HESEG Foundation] *[http://www.mahal-idf-volunteers.org/ Mahal IDF Volunteers] *[http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/never-really-a-lone/ "Lone soldiers - anything but alone"] *[http://www.benjihillman.org/ The Benji Hillman Foundation - HaBayit shel Benji] *[https://idfprep.org/ Lone Soldier Preparation Program at Mechinat Keshet Yehuda] {{div col end}}
Category:Israel Defense Forces Category:Lone soldiers in the Israeli military Category:Military of Israel Category:Family in Israel Category:Family economics