A new campus will allow lone IDF soldiers to live with Israeli students of Hannaton Pre-Military Academy and spend Sabbaths and holidays together, the Hannaton Educational Center announced earlier in December.
"We see them as the next generation of Israeli leadership and provide them with the necessary tools," Rabbi Yoav Ende, Head of the Leadership Institute at Hannaton, explained. "Additionally, the home offers comprehensive emotional, social, and community support for soldiers who left their homeland, families, and support networks to serve the State of Israel.
“Moreover, alongside living on campus with Israeli peers, the soldiers will be adopted by families and integrated into a warm and supportive community."
Currently, thousands of lone soldiers serve in the IDF, and Hannaton has begun a crowdfunding campaign to support their accompaniment program before, during, and after their service.
"People always praise the courage to make aliyah and choose to enlist, but the decision is actually the easy part,” Mordy, a lone soldier, said.
“The hard moments are when you're really coping alone, when there's no longer a framework or friends to support you, and you have to face the consequences of your choice.”
Lone soldiers want community
Natalie, a Hannaton Pre-Military Academy alumna, explained how important a sense of community is to a lone soldier.
"The difficulty as a lone soldier was mainly on weekends and holidays, when returning 'home'. After tough weeks on base, returning to an apartment and doing all the household tasks isn't easy,” she said.
“I don't come from a religious home and never went to synagogue, but at Hannaton I always looked forward to Friday to go to synagogue with the whole academy. I think Hannaton can be an excellent home for lone soldiers.