The October 7 attack on Israel prompted a number of American Jews to courageously leave their careers and families to make Aliyah to Israel and join the war effort. This was facilitated by Nefesh B’Nefesh, in partnership with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, and JNF-USA. 

Yehuda Benhamu (25) was born and raised in New York to American Jewish parents. He was educated in a Zionist home, and at the age of 18 came to Israel to study at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem. After a year and a half, he decided to volunteer in the IDF as a lone soldier, as part of the FIDF-Nefesh B’Nefesh Lone Soldiers Program. He completed his military service as a combat soldier in the Paratroopers brigade. Following his release, he returned to the US to study psychology. 

After completing his degree, he returned to Israel and met his wife, Shira, an American who made Aliyah with the help of Nefesh B’Nefesh a few years prior. After meeting, Yehuda began the process of making Aliyah. The two wed last summer, and they were visiting family in New York during the Sukkot holiday when the war broke out. 

Following initial reports of the attack, Yehuda decided to leave everything behind and come back to Israel to serve with his teammates. He boarded a rescue flight from Athens with around 400 other reservists and made his way to Israel. Initially, due to issues with his registration, he was not able to enlist in the reserves. Yet Yehuda was adamant and managed to enlist, and he has since been serving in the West Bank region. During this time, Yehuda received the news that his Aliyah process had been approved. 

Yehuda received special permission from his commanders to go to the Population and Immigration Authority office to receive his ID as an official citizen of the State of Israel. From there he returned directly to base to continue defending the country alongside his friends. “The decision to come to Israel to enlist was never a question,” said Yehuda proudly after finishing a late-night shift. “The only questions I had were: What’s the fastest way to get to Israel, when do I get in uniform, and where do I report to?” 

He recalled that on Simchat Torah, the day of the attack, “My brother-in-law and I heard the news from Israel while we were walking down the street. Someone stopped the car and said there was a war in Israel. We ran home and immediately went online to get as much information about the situation. To know that my country is under threat is a terrible feeling, and I just wanted to get there and fight for it alongside my friends. The following day my brother-in-law was on an emergency flight to Israel and is now serving in Gaza. I flew one day later, and two days later my wife followed.”

Yehuda speaks passionately and with a sense of mission. When asked if he was afraid of leaving his home to come to a country that is under attack, he laughed, commenting, “We’re fighters, aren’t we? That’s our job. As soon as there is a threat to your home, you do everything you can to protect it. I’m not doing anything out of the ordinary that someone else under attack wouldn’t do. It’s a situation where there’s no room to second guess; you just pick yourself up and go. There were 400 others like me who returned for the same exact reasons.” 

The couple’s families and friends tried to convince them to stay in the US until tensions cleared, but the desire to come to Israel overcame all fears. 
“We returned to the reserves with the stamp that we’re Israelis”