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Lone Soldier Center

From 'A Plate of Hope and Color' exhibit for lone soldiers in Tel Aviv, through May 8, 2026 (Courtesy)
May 6, 2026, 10:41 pm
Artists paint dinner plates for lone soldier charity
Tel Aviv exhibit ‘A Plate of Hope and Color’ includes work by some of country’s best-known artisans
By Jessica Steinberg
Rabbi Eliyahu Merav speaks during funeral of his stepson Yosef Cohen on Demcember 14, 2018. Two soldiers, Yosef Cohen and Yuval Mor Yosef, were killed in a shooting terror attack at the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Givat Assaf, in the West Bank, the day before. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
December 14, 2018, 10:06 pm
A soldier’s death brings grief to Israeli army’s fervently religious battalion
Ultra-Orthodox soldiers, many who serve in the Netzah Yehuda battalion, often experience challenges of ostracism from their families and social pressure not to join the IDF
By Sam Sokol
Alex Singer, Michael Levin, Max Steinberg, three fallen IDF lone soldiers, who were commemorated at a ceremony in Jerusalem on April 17, 2018. (courtesy)
April 18, 2018, 6:34 pm
Fallen lone soldiers mourned as tiny Goliaths, true Zionists, talented artists
The mothers of two American-born IDF soldiers remember their sons, along with comrade of a third, at an English-language Memorial Day ceremony
By Judah Ari Gross
Lone soldiers dance at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Tel Aviv on November 23, 2017. (Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel)
November 24, 2017, 3:46 pm
40 turkeys, 1,000 troops, 2 MKs, lots of beer at lone soldier Thanksgiving meal
MKs Naftali Bennett and Michael Oren stop by the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center’s dinner, but attendees say the real draw is the food, the brews and the dancing
By Judah Ari Gross
Elisa Levin Mindlin, sister of lone soldier Michael Levin who died in the Second Lebanon War in 2006, tells stories about her brother at an English language Memorial Day ceremony at Ammunition Hill on April 30, 2017. (Melanie Lidman/Times of Israel)
April 30, 2017, 11:30 pm
English-language Memorial Day ceremony helps a community mourn
More than 15,000 people tune in to a livestream of event held by Jerusalem’s Lone Soldier Center, in memory of Michael Levin
By Melanie Lidman
David Be‘eri, director of the City of David archeological park. (YouTube screenshot)
March 16, 2017, 7:38 pm
Controversial ‘builder’ of Jewish East Jerusalem awarded Israel Prize
David Be‘eri, who manages City of David in Silwan neighborhood, wins prestigious award despite being criticized for helping Jews settle in Arab areas of capital
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative photo of an IDF exercise near the Gaza Border on November 19, 2014. (Amit Shechter/IDF Spokesperson's Unit/Flickr)
November 24, 2016, 7:13 pm
MKs advance bill to assist lone soldiers after release
Proposed legislation would provide financial help following completion of military service
By ToI Staff
Heroes to Heroes women's trip participants at Latrun Tank Museum, August 2016 (Courtesy)
November 1, 2016, 11:06 am
Traumatized US vets find psychic healing in the Holy Land
Matching former IDF combat soldiers to US counterparts, Heroes to Heroes initiative has its first trip for American women suffering from PTSD as a result of their service
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Michael Levin receives a package of Tastykakes, soon after he was drafted into the IDF, on March 20, 2005. (Tami Gross)
August 15, 2016, 11:25 pm
Why the life and death of lone soldier Michael Levin still resonates, a decade after the war
‘If anything happens to me, I just want to say that I love you and miss you and wish you all the best,’ Levin said in a voicemail, just before something happened to him
By Judah Ari Gross
IDF lone soldiers from the US enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner on November 26, 2015. (Simona Weinglass/Times of Israel)
November 27, 2015, 3:05 pm
Away from family, Israel’s lone soldiers are thankful for Thanksgiving
Despite the dangers, an increasing number of diaspora youth are joining the IDF, and the Lone Soldier Center gives them a much-needed sense of community
By Simona Weinglass
From left: Stuart, Evie, Jake, and Paige Steinberg on July 12 with a Torah scroll, adorned with Golani colors and symbol, written in honor of Sgt. Max Steinberg (Luke Tress/ Times of Israel)
July 20, 2015, 3:51 pm
A year on, soldier’s death in Gaza binds his US family to Israel
Evie Steinberg, who came to the holy land for the first time to bury her son, Sgt. Max Steinberg, now ‘dreads going home’
By Mitch Ginsburg
Israeli soldiers sing as they embrace each other at a staging area in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, as Israeli forces prepare to pull back from the area, on August 06, 2014. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
August 26, 2014, 4:45 am
During combat and after, lone soldiers look to each other for support
‘They become your second family,’ says Ron Gordon, who joined the IDF in 2012. ‘You don’t have anyone else here. You live with your friends’
By Ben Sales
Joel Chasnoff (left) and Tim Bailey in the Golan where they served together in the 188th Brigade in the late 1990s. (Joel Chasnoff)
August 12, 2014, 1:07 am
New support for lone soldiers who don’t call Israel home
They left their families to volunteer for the IDF. But what happens to these veterans when they go back to their countries?
By Cathryn J. Prince
Israeli soldiers give the victory sign on the top of armored vehicle near the Israel Gaza border, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. (photo credit: AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
August 4, 2014, 9:51 pm
IDF soldiers crowdfund supplies
Individual soldiers initiate online campaigns to raise funds for deodorant and other needs
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Bundles packed for IDF's lone soldiers. (Diego Mitelberg/FIDF)
July 29, 2014, 11:40 am
US groups provide support for IDF’s 2,500 lone soldiers
From care packages to flights to visit family, organizations scramble to meet the needs of the IDF’s immigrant soldiers
By Cathryn J. Prince
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