As 2025 comes to a close, Ynet selects its People of the Year – and the honor went to the tens of thousands of IDF reservists who answered the call to defend their home for the last two years.
These brave men and women put their lives on hold with each rotation of duty. Families struggled in their absence, and sometimes businesses they had spent years building were forced to close. Despite this, the soldiers that Ynet spoke to shared how they approached these personal crises, hopes for the new year, and what they are doing to better IDF reservist service.
After serving about 350 reserve days as a commander in the 55th Brigade, Issachar is now in his fifth reserve rotation on the Lebanon border. At home in Givat Yeshayahu await his wife, Miriam, who is currently pregnant, and their two daughters: Hillel, 5 and a half, and Noam, 2 and a half.
“We lost a teammate, Nitzan Sessler,” he said. “On Simchat Torah last year, we lost Yedidya Bloch and Guy Ben-Harosh. Twice I was almost killed, a matter of a second one way or the other.”
Issachar said those losses and near-death experiences led him to act publicly.
“I decided I didn’t want to return to the routine we had before the war. I understood we had to talk about the reservists,” he said. “As a member of the leadership of the ‘Fourth Quarter’ movement, which seeks to change Israeli society, it also has to lead this issue.”
If there’s a message that Nir Issachar and the reservists have for Israel, it’s one of awareness, recognition, and inclusion. For many of these soldiers, rehabilitation doesn’t end after they are discharged from the hospital or return home from service, and healing isn’t just the physical effort of an individual. It’s a spiritual effort of working together.
There are many pieces to pick up as the land of Israel seeks to rebuild and heal since October 7. Reservists are among those helping to lead that rebuilding effort. And The Fellowship and our supporters are with them, always ready to help support IDF soldiers and their families.
