Soldiers put human face to IDF while on tour

Lital and Elad on the Cliff Walk in Newport

The “Israeli Soldiers Stories Tour” – now in its sixth year – has become one of the most important programs that StandWithUs sponsors. This April, two young IDF reservist soldiers, Elad and Lital, made a brief but inspiring visit to Rhode Island on their tour of the Northeast.

Lital is a journalist and anchor for a news website in Israel. She served at checkpoints aimed at thwarting terrorist attacks as a combat soldier in the Border Police Unit, an atypical position for a female soldier. Lital is currently working on a master’s degree in the history of Judaism in the U.S. While in Rhode Island, she enjoyed a trip to the Touro Synagogue.

 Elad served as an officer in the COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) unit, which coordinates humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. He first served in the Gaza District, and later in the West Bank city of Hebron. He was directly responsible for overseeing humanitarian goods going into Gaza, and acted as mediator between the IDF and international organizations.

The soldiers appeared on the Buddy Cianci Show on WPRO. Cianci expressed his wonder at Israel’s mandatory military service for both men and women. Elad remarked that every mother in Israel would prefer that there be no need to send their kids to the army when they turn 18, but Israelis live in a “tough neighborhood” and are often dragged into a circle of violence funded by Iran and Qatar. Despite all this, Israelis crave peace and look forward to a brighter future.

The soldiers also appeared on Patricia Raskin’s radio show. They underscored that the reality of the IDF and Israel is often drastically different from the media’s portrayal. Lital noted that, during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the press focused primarily on casualties in Gaza, downplayed Hamas’ use of human shields and reported little regarding Israel’s six attempts to achieve a ceasefire, all rejected by Hamas. The thousands of rocket attacks and murder of three Israeli teenagers, which precipitated the operation, also received scant coverage in the news.

Elad added, “My task in Operation Protective Edge was to coordinate goods and donations into the Gaza strip. It was sad that many trucks were seized by Hamas terrorists. Palestinians are not our enemy, but the Hamas are. Palestinians are our neighbors. We want the Palestinians to have a better life. Having their economy be more successful will be better for both sides.”

Both radio interviews can be accessed at Facebook.com/StandWithUsRI

BRACHA STUART is the president of StandWithUs Rhode Island.