Different Generations of Jews and The IDF

This first video is the story of Jews who came from all over the world to volunteer for the Israeli Defense Forces at the very beginning of the state, the War for Israeli Independence. The stories are amazing.



One of my uncles, my mother's brother, Izzy Shankman, who was one of the volunteers who helped on the ships that brought "illegal" immigrants before the British left. He never liked to talk about his experiences. The last few times we saw him he made an exception for us, because he felt that we "understood."

This music is illustrated by pictures of young Israeli soldiers. Today's soldiers are drafted into a modern army. Their experiences are very different, if we were to hear them, of the early soldiers in the first video.