MAY 28 • 2020 | 27
An IDF ‘Lone Soldier’
Finds a New Home During COVID-19
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
Eretz
S
outhfield native and
Frankel Jewish Academy
alumnus, Corporal Ari
Weiss, 19, is a combat soldier in
the Combat Engineering Corps
of the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) and joined the IDF in
August 2019. He is in the midst
of a four month battalion-wide
training period, and, like the
rest of his base, he was placed
in extended quarantine during
COVID-19.
Lone Soldiers are men and
women from around the world
who choose to leave the com-
fort of their own homes and
families to become soldiers in
the IDF.
Weiss decided to become a
Lone Soldier after a five-week
Israel summer tour program
that takes 10th-grade students
on a tour of the entire country.
He immediately fell in love
with Israel and knew after three
weeks he wanted to move there.
While Weiss’
role has not
changed due to the COVID-19
outbreak, he has had plenty of
friends who have been ordered
to help out during the height
of the pandemic. Some soldiers
helped distribute food, make
sure roads were closed and
ensure people were staying safe.
Due to the outbreak, Weiss
and the other soldiers also had
to remain on their base for 45
days. Usually, they are allowed
to get out every weekend or at
least every other weekend.
“It was difficult, I’
ll be honest.
We were supposed to get a week
off for Pesach and everything
got cast into uncertainty,
” Weiss
told the Jewish News. “
A lot of
us were worried about basic
things, such as clothes and soap,
etc. I luckily had a little bit of
an advanced warning so I had
brought enough clothes.
”
The IDF brought washing
machines and dryers to the
base, as well as shipments of
soap, shampoo and food, cour-
tesy of some of their donors.
The Friends of the IDF
(FIDF) has also stepped up
during this time of uncertain-
ty. The FIDF is a nationwide,
non-political, non-military
organization that offers edu-
cational, cultural and social
services programs to support
the well-being of IDF soldiers,
veterans and family members.
Paula Lebowitz, FIDF
Michigan Executive Director,
helps coordinate fundraisers
in Detroit and suburban cities
for the FIDF. All the funds go
directly toward the well-being
of IDF soldiers. Throughout the
pandemic, she has been reach-
ing out to the parents of Lone
Soldiers to check in on them.
“Our soldiers need our sup-
port since they can’
t fly home
and be with their families,
”
Lebowitz said. “Most of them
don’
t have family in Israel, so
it is our responsibility to make
sure they are taken care of.
”
FIDF Michigan emails fam-
ilies of Lone Soldiers to keep
them up to date.
“The FIDF Israel office sends
us any updates on our local sol-
diers so that we can disseminate
that information to the families
here in Michigan,
” Lebowitz
said.
Weiss’
parents, David Weiss
and Jordana Wolfson, especial-
ly felt the support from FIDF
Michigan. Lebowitz personally
called Wolfson to check in and
ask how she was doing and how
Weiss was doing.
“I almost burst into tears
because it was the sweetest
phone call … I felt as though I
was trying to control everything
and stay calm and it was so nice
to receive support from the
FIDF that somebody cared that
my child is over in Israel and
that I might be having a hard
time,
” Wolfson said.
Wolfson is proud of Weiss
and is always concerned for his
safety.
“It’
s very hard and very scary
to be away from my family
during this time,
” Weiss said.
Weiss talks with his parents
every week before Shabbat, but
with all the extra time on base,
they have been able to connect
a lot more, an unexpected ben-
efit to help him and his family
get through this challenging
time.
Southfi
eld native Ari Weiss was stuck on base for 45 days.