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.