‘I’m Ready to Defend My Homeland’

The Fellowship  |  January 30, 2025

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(Photo: Guy Yechiely)

Nathan, 19, is so excited to have made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) from France with The Fellowship last November! But life adjusting to a new country is difficult, especially since Israel is still at war. So Fellowship staff stopped by recently to help the young man adjust and drop off a welcoming and warm Fellowship blanket.

Despite arriving during the ongoing war, he finds himself embracing his new home.

“I’ll remember that first siren. It was overwhelming. I panicked and I froze. However, what got me through it was being surrounded by friends – people who comforted me, who reminded me I wasn’t alone. Over time, I’ve learned to manage the fear, but that first experience…it really shook me.”

Though the fear was real, Nathan’s sense of peace deepened as the days went by. “I truly feel at home now,” he says. “It’s something I can’t quite explain, but it feels like home.”

Born and raised in France, Nathan knew the sting of anti-Semitism all too well. As the son of the president of the Jewish community, the local synagogue had always been his sanctuary – a place where his faith, culture, and family intertwined. However, everything changed one day when a terrorist attempted to set fire to the synagogue and stab those inside. Nathan vividly remembers the pain of that moment. “It wasn’t just a building that burned. It was my childhood, my sanctuary. It felt like everything I knew was destroyed. However, in the midst of that loss, I made a vow. I wouldn’t let hate define my future. I would leave France, come to Israel, and live proudly as a Jew.”

While the attack was the breaking point, Nathan’s decision to make aliyah had been building for some time. A trip to Israel had ignited something deep within him, a sense of freedom he had never experienced before. “I’ll never forget my trip to Israel,” Nathan says. “It was lifechanging. I finally found a place where I could be myself, a proud Jew. No one judged me, no one hurled insults at me. It felt surreal.”

Now in Israel, Nathan is learning Hebrew and wants to join the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He hopes to join the Paratroopers one day. “I’m ready to jump out of planes and defend my homeland, no matter what it takes,” he says.

Nathan credits much of his smooth transition to the support he received from The Fellowship and staff. “From the moment I started my aliyah journey, they were there for me,” he says. “One day, I hope to be in a position to pay it forward and help others, just like you’ve helped me.”

Your gift today will provide basic needs and lifesaving help for God’s children, like Nathan, in Israel, in Ukraine, and around the world.