Volume 8, Issue 3 / Adar I 5765 / March 2005
Marching for Israel's Defense
Although February had an unusually long cold-spell throughout Israel, Jonathan Schulman (Jonny) sports a healthy tan after many hours spent outdoors completing his advanced training as an IDF soldier in the Golani infantry unit. Jonny participated in the massa kumta (literally "beret march"), a rigorous hike coming after months of training. It was shortened to 50 kilometers because of the freezing rain and projected snow in the Galilee. The ceremony following the massa kumta took place the next day after the soldiers made a ceremonial 2-kilometer march to the Golani memorial site.
At the moving ceremony, attended by family, friends and senior officers, the soldiers received their well-deserved kudos and the unit's berets. Jonny's parents, Alan and Rose Anne Schulman, came in from Atlanta, Georgia to be with him for the event. Jonny is a chayal boded, an oleh who came on aliyah alone and serves in the army without family in Israel.
The youngest of three sons, Johnny, 23, attended a Zionist religious day school until eighth grade. He went to a yeshiva for two years and switched to a public school for the last two years. "I knew from day school that I wanted to come to Israel for a visit. My two older brothers and parents were here before," says Jonny. His first trip to Israel was on the Young Judaea Year Course in which he learned and toured the country. He also had an opportunity to learn skills like taking buses or taxis, and grocery shopping. As part of the program he lived in an absorption center in Ashkelon for two months. "My first natural encounter with an Israeli was when I worked with an Israeli handyman at the absorption center."
Returning to the United States, Jonny majored in political science at Towson University in Baltimore. He read many biographies of Israeli politicians from across the political spectrum. "The books inspired me to take action. I am not the type to sit back, so coming on aliyah and then serving in the IDF was the course of action for me." Jonny's year in Baltimore prepared him further for aliyah as a chayal boded, since he got used to living on his own. Also, his friends and roommates in Baltimore planned on serving in the IDF and went to Israel more than a year before he did.
Following his parents' request to complete his education before aliyah, Jonny applied to the prestigious University of Georgia. At the same time his aliyah plans went into high gear. He used the Jewish Agency website with its extensive resources (www.jafi.org.il). "The Jewish Agency website was quite informative and the resources explaining army terms were very useful."
Jonny was accepted to the University of Georgia and completed his course load as quickly as possible in order to make aliyah at the beginning of January 2004, a week short of his 22nd birthday. The IDF stipulates that army service is six months when an oleh arrives after his 22nd birthday instead of two years when arriving before that date. Jonny wanted to serve in the IDF for two years.
The Jewish Agency's Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem helped him integrate into Israeli society. "The Hebrew course at Ulplan Etzion was outstanding," he states. "We went on trips and learned about Israeli culture. I also learned how to live with various cultures since the students came from many countries. The staff is unbelievable. I could go to them with any problem." Eli Birnbaum, director of the Jewish Agency's Internet Services, spoke to Jonny and his class about joining the army and explained in detail what to expect there.
During his Ulpan studies, Jonny volunteered with the Civil Guard which patrols neighborhoods. He went a few times to the IDF's recruitment office to start the enlistment process. "At the beginning, they ignored me. I tried to make myself noticed and was told to go home. Finally I met the recruitment officer. Even though I was only able to miss a few Ulpan classes, when he told me to return the next morning, I agreed. He took me right away."
He started his service last July by taking a three-week pre-basic training course, where he learned the Hebrew weapon terminology and familiarized himself with terse army jargon, thus preparing him for regular basic training. "When I started the army, I thought my Hebrew was acceptable, but it wasn't really good enough. Yet today my friends tell me that it's good considering that I'm in Israel only a year."
Jonny could have enlisted in any of the IDF units, but wanted Golani, because of its history as the oldest continuous-serving infantry unit and reputation as an elite unit. "I wanted Golani because it receives the majority of important combat missions." His American friends were also in Golani and gave him advice. During his army service, he lived with these friends in Kibbutz Givat Brenner. Although they don't replace his family, they do ease his service. "I don't feel the problems of a chayal boded, because I've been on my own for a long time. My friends sometimes have a hot meal ready for me and do the laundry when I come back from the army so I can catch up on sleep."
Jonny often spends Shabbat and holidays in his apartment with his roommates. He sometimes goes to a family originally from Atlanta living in Jerusalem. His parents and brothers call often from the United States. Rose Anne and Alan Schulman are very supportive of their son's decision. "We worry like Israeli parents do, and we're proud that he's in Israel serving the country," Rose Anne says.
Written by: Batsheva Pomerantz
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