New Immigrants Making a Difference as IDF ‘Lone Soldiers’

Stand for Israel  |  May 15, 2024

The Fellowship helps young people around the world hoping to serve as IDF soldiers make aliyah to fight for their homeland. We honor them for their bravery in the face of unimaginable challenges, especially as many are arriving in Israel with no family and are serving as lone soldiers. JNS tells us more:

In the wake of Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, the country now has many more heroes to celebrate. Included in that group are immigrant “lone soldiers” (soldiers without family in Israel) who were forced to fight for the country’s survival very nearly “fresh off the boat,” just as their predecessors did 76 years ago.

Some of these soldiers immigrated from countries including Argentina with the assistance of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), an organization committed to helping Jews escape poverty and anti-Semitism and assist in their return to their biblical homeland.

Ezequiel Pachter, 22, immigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2022, and lives in Netanya. In Argentina, he was very active as a freestyle wrestler at the local Maccabi sports center and was also involved in serving as a security guard to protect the Jewish community.