Jerusalem (TPS-IL) -- Two Israeli soldiers wounded in the war with Hamas have taken their personal stories of survival and loss from the battlefields of Gaza to American university campuses, describing what organizers say has become a new front in Israel’s struggle for legitimacy abroad.
Nehorai S. and Osher P. have been visiting campuses across the United States as part of an initiative led by Belev Echad, in cooperation with Chabad on Campus. The program aims to connect Israeli combat veterans with students amid a sharp rise in anti-Israel protests and antisemitic rhetoric at universities since the outbreak of the war.
“American universities have become a second front,” said Rabbi Uriel Vigler, founder of Belev Echad. “We aren’t sending these soldiers to campuses to argue about politics. We are sending them to spread light in a place where there is so much darkness and ignorance. When people see Nehorai or Osher, they don’t see a headline. They see heroes who paid with their bodies and souls for the basic values of freedom.”
Belev Echad is a New York-based nonprofit that supports Israeli soldiers wounded in action, providing respite, rehabilitation, and emotional support.