Thousands of Israeli military reservists and former soldiers living in New York City have packed up their bags to join the fight against terrorists intent on wiping the Jewish state off the map.
Since Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 terrorist attack, more than 3,000 IDF reservists have been called up from across the United States to fight for Israel, with 2,000 alone coming from the Big Apple, according to Itay Milner, a spokesman for the Israeli consulate in New York.
Three days after Hamas slaughtered 1,400 people in Israel, Ariel Nurieli didn’t think twice about ditching his math and political science coursework at Columbia University to reenlist in the Israeli Defense Forces.
“People say, ‘Wow you left everything behind’ . . . but if we don’t do this there won’t be anything to come back to,” Nurieli, 25, told The Post from the frontlines of the country’s northern region, as a ground invasion of Gaza looms.
Nurieli, a Miami native and former IDF officer, recalled saying goodbyes to friends who stopped at his apartment before heading to the airport and packing a pair of photos of him and loved ones at weddings. Ahead of his flight, his father told him over the phone he was proud of him.
Many IDF reservists in New York, like Lihi, left behind their friends and studies to aid their comrades back in Israel.Courtesy of Lihi
“We have to make sure there’s a place that will always welcome the Jewish people, no matter what,” he said.
A number of New Yorkers preparing to head into the battlefield said they were driven in part by the soaring anti-Israel and antisemitic hate that has plagued the city in recent weeks.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas
“There’s no doubt that being in New York, it was like being in a war without a weapon on you,” said Lihi, a 24-year-old Columbia student and IDF reservist and native of Tel Aviv.
Ayal Yakobe headed out to fight despite his platoon officer giving him the option to skip out. Courtesy of Ayal Yakobe
Chanoch Eli Berman (right) brought with him to Israel suitcases filled with combat and tactical gear.Courtesy of Chanoch Eli Berman
Lihi, who is stationed at Israel’s northern border as the operations head for an elite commander unit, said she ironically feels “the most secure” on the front lines, having been chased on New York City streets for speaking her native Hebrew to her mother and attacked for posting signs of civilians kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
The antisemitic atmosphere permeating her campus and the city “was the trigger to be back home,” she said, adding many of her Columbia friends today are scared to leave their apartments and are even suffering panic attacks.
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Others, such as IDF reservist Ayal Yakobe, dove headlong into the Israel-Hamas war despite being given a clear option to stay home.
Even though his IDF platoon officer said his unit was full, Yakobe, 25, couldn’t fathom sitting on his couch while letting others fight, and asked his mom to book him a flight Saturday night to Tel Aviv to join the 55th Paratroopers Brigade.
“This was something that if I didn’t do now, I was gonna think about for the rest of my life,” Yakobe said, explaining that he left behind two jobs — as a lab worker at Columbia and caring for disabled men at a living-assistance home.
“This is a really big turning point,” he said. “If we’re able to pull this off . . . we can either make greater peace in the region or greater war in the region, and I’m excited about the prospect of greater peace.”
Some New York Israelis brought not only a fighting spirit but vital supplies to help the wartime efforts.
Chanoch Eli Berman, a paratrooper reservist, promised his commanding officer years ago when he moved to New York City that he would not only return should a war break out, but he’d bring with him “hundreds of suitcases of gear.”
When showed up in the country’s north to begin arduous training exercises ahead of the ground invasion, the 29-year-old had in tow 15 suitcases chockfull of flashlights, tactical gear and other combat gear he had purchased with money his New York friends had fundraised.
“A lot of my American friends were scared for my safety. It’s a very dangerous conflict, and war doesn’t always end the way we want it to,” he said.
Berman promised his commanding officer when he moved to the United States that he would return to Israel should war break out.Courtesy of Chanoch Eli Berman
“But for me . . . there’s no way I would let my brothers who have been fighting in my unit for 12 years go in alone.”
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
Strangers have also been pitching in to aid these heroic New Yorkers by covering their bills while they are fighting overseas.
Ezra Gershanok, co-founder of the subleasing website Ohana, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise at least $36,000 to cover one month’s rent for 14 Israeli soldiers, bringing in over $7,200 so far.
Jacob Halbert and Ezra Gershanok started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover rent bills for Israeli soldiers fighting overseas.Courtesy of Ezra Gershanok
“At a moment’s notice, people got called up and they decided to put their life on the line,” Gershanok said.
“I feel like the least [we] can do is make sure they don’t get evicted when they come back.”
Source link: https://nypost.com/2023/10/28/news/military-reservists-from-nyc-rushed-to-israel-to-fight-hamas/