After Hamas launched a war with its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, planes filled with Israelis and new immigrants poured into the country—many of them determined to support the Jewish state even if it meant uprooting their lives and, for some, serving in the army.

“When I came to Israel for the first time, it felt like home instantly,” said Pvt. J, 23, who moved to Israel from Tenafly, New Jersey, to study at Reichman University in Herzliya about three years ago, and immigrated in January 2024.

With that decision came the move to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. “One of the biggest challenges was dealing with a kind of guilt—enjoying life in the country while other kids don’t have that choice, because as soon as they turn 18, they have to serve,” he told JNS.

“If I wanted to live in Israel

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