Lone Soldier Center founder Tziki Aud (center) greets Staff Sgt. Shalom Leikin (left) and Sgt. Shmulik Lazarov, both from the U.S., at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Monday. Photo credit: Gideon Markovitch Lone Soldier Center, which supports soldiers from abroad, receives more than 100 inquiries from young people who served in the Israel Defense Forces, seeking to join in the fight against Gaza terrorists • “Every Jew in the world has a responsibility to protect Israel. I didn’t have to come back to Israel, but nothing stopped me from coming,” says one American soldier.
By Danny Brenner
Tziki Aud, 59, founder of the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Sgt. Michael Levin (who was killed in the 2006 Second Lebanon War), which supports soldiers from abroad, said on Sunday that he had received more than 100 inquiries from former soldiers seeking to assist their comrades in Israel. Fourteen have already arrived in Israel at their own expense to join their combat units, Aud said.
On Monday, Aud went to the airport with Yoav Ziskind, a member of the Lone Soldier Center’s management, to greet two more soldiers who flew in from New York: Sgt. Shmulik Lazarov, 24, and Staff Sgt. Shalom Leikin, 21.
“I heard what was happening and decided to come here,” Lazarov said. “I feel a sense of belonging here, a responsibility and a desire to contribute to the war effort.”
And Leikin said, “Every Jew in the world has a responsibility to protect Israel. I didn’t have to come back to Israel, but there’s nothing that would stop me from coming.”
