Israel
Winnipegger Zev Faintuch talks about his experiences as a “lone soldier” in the IDF
BY MYRON LOVE
The IDF (Israel Defense Force) is the first and last line of defense for the people of Israel. As Zev Faintuch noted, quoting a Holocaust survivor, “without a strong army, there would be no Israel”.
But it is not only Israelis (Jewish, Christian, Bedouin and Druze) who stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of the Jewish state. A goodly number of Jewish youth – including several from within our own Jewish community – have also gone to Israel to enlist in the IDF and help protect the people of Israel.
Those foreign volunteers are referred to as “lone soldiers” – one of whom was Winnipegger Zev Faintuch. On Monday, June 5, Faintuch spoke to an audience of about 50 crammed into a room at Temple Shalom about his experiences as a member of the IDF. The program was under the aegis of Winnipeg Friends of Israel.
Being a “lone soldier” doesn’t actually mean that you are alone or lonely, Faintuch explained. It means that you do not have family in Israel. Generally, he noted, “lone soldiers” are matched with adoptive families to help them feel more connected.
“It is nice to have someone you can talk to when you are on leave who understands what you have been through and a place to go where you can feel at home,” he said.
Faintuch served in the IDF for 18 months in 2011-2012. He was a member of Nahal brigade serving in an infantry battalion. Throughout that time, he was stationed in southern Israel near Sderot, which is just across the border from Hamas-ruled Gaza. Fortunately, it was a quiet time. There was little or no hostile activity during that period.
The first question that Faintuch was asked by his fellow soldiers was: What motivated an overachieving nice Jewish boy who has trouble screwing in a light bulb (all in his own words) to enlist in the IDF. As he explained, he had been a Zionist from a young age. As a Gray Academy student, he was imbued with the Zionist ideal and love for Israel. He participated in the March of the Living (which takes high school students first to the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland, then to Israel) and the Gray Academy’s P2G program (which involves exchange programs between Gray Academy students and teachers and their counterparts of Danciger Regional High school in Kiryat Shemona in northern Israel).
In addition, his mother, Shelley Faintuch, is a leader in Israel-related programs and activities in our community.
The moment that clinched his decision to join the IDF, he said, came on the second last evening of his Grade 12 trip to Israel. (Every year, the Gray Academy of Jewish Education arranges a trip to Israel for its graduating class at the end of the term.)
“When we were discussing our experience in Israel, one of my friends commented that he hoped his children would get to see Israel,” Faintuch recalled. “I took that to mean that Israel’s existence was in question.”
Other factors also played a role in Faintuch’s decision. He cited personal development and the opportunity to learn another language. “I had studied Hebrew, but wasn’t fluent,” he said.
There was also a Holocaust component. His great- grandparents had perished in the Holocaust and a great-uncle in Winnipeg is a survivor.
Faintuch went through the IDF’s rigorous training program, culminating in an all-night, 60 km hike in the desert with full backpack and running the last two kilometres carrying a stretcher
“I pushed myself further than I thought I was capable of,” he said.
His principal duties in the army were manning a heavy machine gun and operating a remote control overhead weapons system. “I sat in a vehicle – with a 50-calibre machine gun on the top – and operated a joystick connected to a camera,” he said. “I was supposed to surveil the surrounding area and provide cover for my other team members should we find ourselves in a combat situation.”
He also recalled how on Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of each month), a temporary shelter would be set up and a Torah would be brought out for morning prayers. “It was surreal and incredible,” he said.
“Would I do it (volunteer to serve in the IDF)?” he asked out loud. “Yes. It was an incredible experience. But if I could do it again, I would try to make officer. I wasn’t confident enough in my Hebrew.”
Faintuch was asked if he thought that he had made a difference to the defense of Israel. He responded negatively. “It doesn’t really make sense for the IDF to take on foreigners,” he noted. “We have to be paid more and require more resources. The positive answer though is that Israelis appreciate that some of us in the Diaspora have their backs. They don’t feel so alone when we stand shoulder to shoulder with them.”
He reported that 20% of the soldiers in his company were lone soldiers and 25% of his platoon were English-speakers.
In response to a question about the IDF’s code of ethics, he reported that it is among the strictest in the world. “Under the rules of engagement, we are only allowed to fire our weapons if we are in immediate physical danger,” he said.
Since his return, he has completed his BA in Global Studies and MA (at the University of Western Ontario) in Global Risk. “There are a large number of both Jewish and Muslim students at UWO,” he commented. “One of my best friends there was a Palestinian. We don’t talk politics.”
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
Features
Message from a Palestinian in Gaza to protesters: “You’re hurting the Palestinian cause”
A very brave Palestinian who was willing to put his name to paper and write an article for Newsweek Magazine has exposed the utter hypocrisy of all those students – and others, who have been setting up encampments across the U.S. – and now Canada, too.
You can read the article at https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
Features
The Most Expensive Israeli Soccer Transfers
Even if Israel isn’t known as a world soccer power, it has produced plenty of talented players who have made a living in top European leagues. On more than one occasion, an Israeli international has commanded a rather large transfer fee. But who are the most expensive players in Israel’s history? The answer could be a little surprising. We took a look back to find the most expensive Israeli soccer transfers of all time.
Tai Baribo
In 2023, Baribo made the move to MLS, signing with the Philadelphia Union. The reported fee was around $1.5 million, which is one of the highest transfer fees the Union has ever paid for a player.
Omer Atzili
Throughout his career, Atzili has played for a variety of clubs, including stops in Spain and Greece. In 2023, he joined Al Ain in the UAE for a transfer fee of $2.1 million.
Maor Buzaglo
Now retired, Buzaglo was briefly the holder of the richest transfer deal for an Israeli player. After a couple of successful seasons on loan, Maccabi Tel Aviv paid $2.7 million to rival Maccabi Haifa for Buzaglo in 2008.
Dia Saba
Saba made history in 2020 when he joined Al-Nasr, making him the first Israeli player to play for a club in the UAE. At the time, it was a big deal for relations between the two countries. Al-Nasr also paid an impressive $2.9 million transfer fee for the midfielder.
Tal Ben Haim
On multiple occasions, Ben Haim has been sold for more than $1 million. First, there was his move from Hapoel Tel Aviv to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2023 for close to $1.2 million. A few years later, Sparta Prague came calling for him, spending $3.1 million as a transfer fee for the winger.
Itay Shechter
During the prime of his career, Shechter was the type of player who warranted a seven-figure transfer fee. German club Kaiserslautern paid a little over $2.6 million in 2011 to bring Shechter to the Bundesliga from Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Daniel Peretz
When Peretz was sold to Bayern Munich, it wasn’t the most expensive deal involving an Israeli player, although it was arguably the most important. He became the first Israeli Jew to play at Bayern, which is one of the biggest clubs in the world. The transfer fee for Peretz paid by Bayern Munich to Maccabi Tel Aviv was around $5.4 million.
Oscar Gloukh
Gloukh is one of the best young Israeli players right now. He already has three international goals in a dozen appearances to his name. Somehow, Gloukh is already one of the most expensive players in Israel’s history. After coming up with Maccabi Tel Aviv, he moved to Austrian giant Red Bull Salzburg in 2023 for a transfer fee of close to $7.5 million. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him top that number one day.
Liel Abada
Abada has been a part of two huge transfer deals in his young career. In 2021, Scottish club Celtic paid $4.8 million to acquire him from Maccabi Petah Tikva. However, that number was topped in 2024 when Charlotte FC of MLS paid a fee of $8 million for Abada.
With Charlotte FC, Abada competes in North America’s top league, facing teams from both Mexico and Canada. Throughout North America, sports betting has taken off in recent years. That includes betting in Canada, where there is a large collection of trusted sports betting platforms.
Eran Zahavi
To date, Zahavi holds the record for the most expensive transfer fee paid for an Israeli player. It’s fitting for Israel’s former captain and all-time leading scorer. In 2016, Chinese club Guangzhou City paid $12.5 million to get Zahavi from Maccabi Tel Aviv. That record was nearly broken later that year when another Chinese club offered $20 million for Zahavi, who turned it down and stayed with Guangzhou City.