(RNS)– After finishing from Tenafly High School in New Jersey 2 years earlier, Edan Alexander registered in an Israeli army preparation workshop to see if he would be a great suitable for the Israel Defense Forces.
Both of Alexander’s Israeli-born moms and dads had actually served in the IDF. His grandparents resided in Tel Aviv. He was proficient in Hebrew. And he had actually been going to an Israeli searching motion, the Tzofim, while in high school.
After finishing the three-month army preparation program customized to Jews who live outside of Israel, he got.
On the early morning of Oct. 7, Alexander, 20, was on guard task at a military station about 1.5 miles from the Gaza border when Hamas terrorists stormed his watchtower and took him hostage. He has actually not been spoken with considering that, and his moms and dads, Adi and Yael Alexander, are working feverishly to promote for his release.
Alexander is amongst the 100 captives still thought to be alive in a network of tunnels below southern Gaza. Of those, 6 are U.S. residents and 3, consisting of Alexander, are serving in the IDF.
The Alexander household in 2022. Edan, from left, mom Yael, Roy, Mika and daddy Adi. (Courtesy picture)
Adi Alexander, Edan’s daddy, stated his kid “simply wished to do the best thing, the honorable thing.”
“When you serve for the IDF, you essentially serve a nation that is an essential ally for the United States,” Adi stated.
An approximated 23,380 American people presently serve in Israeli ranks and a minimum of 25 American people have actually been eliminated in the battling because Oct. 7, according to the U.S. State Department.
They are the kids and children of moms and dads who relocated to the United States or immigrated to Israel. They hold a strong dedication to the Jewish state and to the requirement to protect it. They are similarly comfy in America, living lives that straddle the borders of both nations. They have differing degrees of Jewish spiritual observance, speak both English and Hebrew, however share a commitment to Zionism, Israel’s nationwide ideology that holds that Jews deserve to self-determination.
The 2 other American IDF soldiers being imprisoned are Omer Neutra, 22, who matured on Long Island to Israeli-American moms and dads, and Itay Chen 20, who matured in Israel however vacationed often in New York, where his daddy, Ruby, is a U.S. person.
Itay Chen, left, and his mom, Hagit Chen. (Courtesy image)
The households of all 6 of the U.S.-Israeli captives will sign up with the watching box for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7. These member of the family have actually consulted with Biden a minimum of two times– as soon as in the Oval Office– and have actually made various journeys to Washington, New York and Tel Aviv. A number of have actually likewise gone to Doha, the capital of Qatar, to plead with leaders there to assist release their liked ones.
