A ‘Lone Soldier’ Defended Her Homeland

 |  May 8, 2016

Before becoming a ‘lone’ female soldier, like many teenagers, Alona was ready for adventure. So when she saw a notice about the Na’aleh program that helped bring Jewish youth on aliyah to Israel, she applied.

Alona was accepted, and she eagerly left Yekaterinburg in southern Russia for the Holy Land. She attended high school in Haifa, and lived at a Fellowship-supported youth village. “I spent three wonderful years there,” Alona said. “I had a warm home and a family that adopted me. It was unbelievable.”

After high school, Alona joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a “Lone Soldier,” referring to immigrant soldiers who have no family in Israel. She was one of the first female soldiers to serve in an IDF special forces canine unit. She and her dog detected and stopped a terrorist truck filled with explosives headed for Israel—saving many lives— and Alona received a medal of honor.

Today, Alona has completed her army service and, thanks to a program provided by The Fellowship, she is studying for her degree at the Hebrew University. “Israel has been very good to me, and I want to give back,” she said with great resolve.

There are thousands of Lone Soldiers like Alona putting their lives on the line in Israel’s army. Without family, they are often in great financial need. Many receive aid for their basic necessities from The Fellowship through our Guardians of Israel program. It is because of them that the promise of Scripture is realized each day, that the people of Israel are able to “eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid” (Zephaniah 3:13).

Your gift today to our Guardians of Israel program will help provide dedicated immigrant and female soldiers like Alona with their daily needs as they serve their country. Please be generous in your response, for their and Israel’s sake! Thank you.