Lone soldier

Lone soldiers are generally either non-Israelis of Jewish background volunteering under the Mahal or Tzofim Garin Tzabar programmes or immigrants under the Law of Return, although other possibilities exist (e.g., orphaned natives).

[6] In early 2011, The Jerusalem Post reported that about 46% of the approximately 5,000 lone soldiers in the military at that time had family in Israel but were estranged from them.

[7] An IDF adviser to lone soldiers told Arutz Sheva in 2012 that most of these were youths from Haredi religious backgrounds, shunned by their families for joining the army.

[10] Levin's death received a great deal of attention; over 2,000 people attended his funeral on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

[13] During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, three lone soldiers were killed: Max Steinberg (from Los Angeles; a sharpshooter in the Gideon Battalion of the Golani Brigade) and Sean Carmeli from the United States and Jordan Bensemhoun from France.