Foreign-born Israeli soldiers find support thousands of miles from home

 Thousands of young people leave their home countries each year to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Known as “lone soldiers,” they make up about five percent of the IDF’s roughly 170,000 troops, and unlike most of their peers, they do it without family nearby.

For many, the decision is not sudden. Max Long, who grew up in Boston, says his path to Israel developed gradually.

“I think it was something that didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “It’s a deep connection to the understanding that wherever we are in the world, Israel is our home.”

Still, the reality on the ground can be tough. Moving to a new country is hard enough. Doing it in a different language while serving in the military adds another layer of difficulty and, in many cases, a sense of isolation.

For Levi Preger, those moments of loneliness were often the most ordinary ones.

“Just before you’re about to go home, your friends are talking about seeing their parents,” he said. “And I know that I’m going back to an empty home.”

Preger joined the IDF in 2019, but the path that brought him there was unexpected. He grew up in the Netherlands in what he describes as a traditional but not particularly religious household, with no visible connection to Judaism. That changed when he was 17.

He discovered that his family had Jewish roots on his mother’s side, something that had been kept hidden for decades. After World War II, his great grandmother chose not to speak about her Jewish identity, likely out of fear that another Holocaust could happen.

The discovery reshaped how Preger saw himself.

“It was kind of a family secret that was lost during the war,” he said. “Then we found out, and it started the journey.”

Following this, and a Birthright trip that exposed him to Israel and fellow Jews for the first time, Preger chose to enlist in the IDF.

Like many lone soldiers, the challenges did not end when his service did. Adjusting to civilian life in Israel can come with a different set of hurdles, from finding housing to navigating paperwork, without the safety net most Israelis rely on.

“You don’t realize what you’re missing until you need it,” Long said. “A guarantor, a lawyer, someone to help with a contract. Most people just call their parents. Lone soldiers don’t have that.”

After finishing his own service in 2019, Long decided to try to fill that gap. He founded Growing Wings, a nonprofit aimed at helping lone soldiers transition into life after the army, whether that means finding a place to live, help with the notoriously tricky Israeli bureaucracy, or simply having someone to call.

“We’ve created a kind of hub,” he said. “If someone comes to us with a problem, we’ll find the person or organization that can help, and then we actually follow up.”

Preger was one of the first people to turn to Growing Wings. Just weeks before enlisting, he found himself without housing.

“I told Max, ‘I’m drafting in two weeks and I have nowhere to go,’” he said. “He set me up in an apartment with other lone soldiers. That’s when I realized this was something different. They actually stay with you through it.”

The community the organization builds has also been shaped by loss. Ariel Lubliner, a Brazilian born lone soldier who served alongside Long and later mentored younger recruits at Growing Wings, was killed in Gaza last August.

At Israel’s first Memorial Day ceremony dedicated to lone soldiers, Long laid a wreath in his memory, and for others who never made it home.

Among them was Josh Boone, an Idaho born sniper known as the “Bear Jew,” who died by suicide in January. His partner, Keren, also laid a wreath at the ceremony.

As Israel grapples with growing mental health challenges among veterans, exacerbated by the events of the last three years, Long says the solution often starts small.

“We talk a lot about mental health,” he said. “But sometimes it’s just having someone check in on you. That can be the difference between life and death.”

For the thousands of lone soldiers who arrive each year, this kind of support can make all the difference. What begins as a solitary journey, Long says, does not have to stay that way.

“‘Lone soldier’ sounds like you’re alone,” he said. “But community is how you get out of that. I’m here to help because someone helped me.”