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GAZA:Americans joining Israeli army through loyalty, obligation.
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Noam Sohn was an eighth grader in Westchester County, N.Y.,
when he started to feel a certain responsibility to help protect a
country thousands of miles away.
"I felt that if I got to go to
Israel and feel safe then I should also help the next generation feel
safe," said Sohn. "In one way or another Israel is a homeland for me and
I started to feel that this might be a better place for me to begin my
life as an adult."
At the age of 19, Noam Sohn was ready to leave
the comfort of his home and his family to enlist in the Nahal Brigade of
the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He is not alone. Roughly 1,000
American citizens serve in the Israeli army, according to IDF estimates.
They are called "lone soldiers" - citizens from other countries who
choose to volunteer for the IDF.
Noam Sohn in IDF uniform
CBS News
Most
of the lone soldiers are in their 20s. Last month, two of them lost
their lives in Gaza - Max Steinberg, 24, from Southern California and
Sean Carmeli, 21, from Texas.
Sohn, who is now 21, remembers the day he landed in Israel.
"It
was a complete shock to my system," he recalled. "I was really nervous.
I didn't know what unit I was going to get into. If I was going to make
new friends like the friends I have in the United States. If I was
going to miss my family too much."
"It wasn't peaceful," said Sohn's mother, Nora Anderson. "Because you're going to sleep knowing that your child is in danger."
For
Sohn, the biggest challenge was learning Hebrew. "That is the biggest
struggle because I want to communicate, I want to express to people how
I'm feeling or what I need or what I want."
CBS News interviewed
Sohn while he was home on leave for 30 days. This was his third time
home since joining the army almost two years ago. He served four months
on the Lebanese border and nine months in Ramallah. "We haven't been
together as a full family in a very long time because he's never here
for Thanksgiving. He's never here for major events," said Anderson.
Sohn's unit entered Gaza two weeks ago at the peak of escalation between Israeli army and Hamas militants.
Group photo of Nahal Brigade, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
CBS News
"All
loss of human life is difficult to swallow," said Sohn. "It doesn't
matter whose fault it is. A human's life is a human's life and if the
person is not relevant to the conflict they shouldn't have to pay their
life."
The war in Gaza is far from over. A ceasefire that was
supposed to last 72 hours was broken. More than 1,600 Palestinians and
63 Israelis have been killed in 25 days of fighting, according to the
Gaza Health Ministry.
Sohn returned to service this week, but
hopes for a brighter future in Gaza. "I really do believe that like many
other conflicts of the world this conflict too will be solved and in
our generation you will see Palestinians and Israelis living in a much
calmer world.
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