Israel Remembers IDF American Zionist Hero Michael Levin

Jerusalem ----July 29..... Michael Levin of suburban Philadelphia was determined to join the Israel Defense Forces. "He once said to me: 'If you cut my legs off, I'm still going to Israel,'" his father, Mark, recalls.

There was never a question in his mind that he should go to Israel and join a combat unit. "It was him," says his mother, Harriet. "Knowing who Michael was, he didn't have a choice."

But when the Second Lebanon War broke out last year, Levin did have a choice: he was on leave in the United States, visiting his family and was not required to return. He rushed back to Israel to find his elite IDF paratrooper unit already fighting in Lebanon. He was told that he was not needed, that he should wait in Hebron for his unit's return.

"If you want to go to Hebron, you go to Hebron. I'm going to Lebanon," Levin told the officer, according to Mark Levin.

Four days later, on August 1, 2006, he was shot by a Hizbullah sniper in Aita al-Shaab, southern Lebanon. A comrade risked his life to carry the fatally wounded Levin out of the village, under heavy shelling and gun fire.

Levin's parents, both born and raised in America, say it's easier for them to cope here in Israel. "American Jewry has a hard time understanding Michael's drive and motivation. In Israel, no one will ever say to us, 'We don't understand how you could let him go,'" his father says.

For his mother, being in Israel is a way of connecting to Michael again. "I feel much, much closer to Michael here. I have great memories of him here because, in Israel, he was so happy."

A year after Michael Levin's death, his family is still discovering new facets of the life he lived. Last week, his father learned that when the news spread of Michael's story, many of Jerusalem's homeless began coming forward to express their sadness at Michael's passing. They told of how Levin - who lived in the capital's Nahlaot neighborhood - went beyond giving them money as he passed: He would sit beside them on the pavement and bring them hope, encouraging them to get their lives back on track.

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of Levin's death, his family hosted a one-day convention on Friday to raise awareness of the difficult situation of "lone soldiers" in the IDF, immigrants who have no close relatives in Israel.

At the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, 325 lone soldiers gathered to meet each other and to learn about their rights and opportunities upon finishing their service.

Explains Levin's mother: "Michael was a Zionist through and through but there were a lot of difficulties with coming [to Israel]." Leaving a tight-knit family and adoring circle of friends in Holland, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Michael faced a significant emotional shift upon making aliya.

For the Levins, Friday's event was held not only for the lone soldiers to meet others going through similar difficulties but also - and perhaps more importantly - for their superiors. "It was also for the higher-ups to understand the hardships these boys go through, because I don't think they do," says Harriet Levin, citing leave for Shabbat, which should be a joyous occasion, as being particularly painful for the lone soldiers who often return to an empty apartment thousands of miles from their loved ones.

In addition to agreeing to give lectures across the United States, the Levin family has allowed a Philadelphia woman who was drawn to Michael's story to make a documentary about his life and legacy. The film, A Hero in Heaven, was shown on Israel Channel 10 on Remembrance Day.

After the broadcast, thousands of phone calls and e-mails flooded Channel 10 and the Levin family, saying, according to Mark Levin: "Your son is teaching Israel about Zionism."

When asked to explain how it's possible that this young man from a Philadelphia suburb could teach Israelis about Zionism, his father has a simple reply: "Michael was very small in size" - he had to wear weights when parachuting to prevent the wind from blowing him off course - "he was only 5 foot 6 [167 cm.] and 118 pounds [54 kilos], but he had the heart of a lion. It's a paradigm of what Israel is: Israelis almost see him as a mirror of their own existence - that you don't have to be the biggest to make your mark on the world."

What message do the Levins hope Michael has shared with the world? To them, it's not necessarily about inspiring young American Jews to join the IDF. "There are a lot of ways to help Israel, it doesn't mean you have to pick up a gun," says his mother. For the Levins, Michael's lasting impression on the world should be that of a young man who had a tenacious commitment to his dream. "Michael had a dream and he achieved his dream. Hopefully someone will hear Michael's story and be inspired to realize their own dream," says his older sister, Elisa.

For Harriet Levin, her son's dream lives on. She points to a small pair of silver wings pinned to her shirt: When Michael died, one of his fellow paratrooper took his wings from his uniform. As a unit, Michael's comrades presented the wings to her at his funeral. "I wear them everyday," she says, "I believe in everything that he did and I'm very proud of him."

Donations can be made to the Michael Levin Memorial Fund for the benefit of lone IDF soldiers at Michael Levin Memorial Fund .

May peace be upon them and upon all Israel. Amen.

One cannot but compare this family to the Sheehan.
Their hearts grow with every additional aknowledgement
of their son and his love of country, while hers shrivels in bitterness and hate.

i don’t get it-if he wanted to fight islamic terrorists he could’ve joined the armed forces of his home country,the USA-my great grandfather was drafted into the czarist army for 25 years-i doubt he felt very patriotic towards the russian monarchy-but this is America-i enlisted at 18 as did two of my cousins-the idea of choosing to serve in a foreign army,even a friendly one is anathema to me- recently read of an observant Jew,Daniel Agami(he was briefly profiled by Hannity on his trip to Iraq)who was killed in action recently-he joined in response to 9/11 also,but he joined the army of his nation,not a foreign state

The young man in question was not just a Jew . He was a Zionist Jew, basically one that believes that the Jews have a right to a homeland in the area called Israel.

He also believed that that land and its people needed defending from it’s “neighbors” who have sworn everyday since the creation of the state of Israel to finish the work of corporal Hitler & drive all the Jews into the sea pausing at Jerusalem just long enough for a Jew woman free rape & Jew baby bayoneting contest.

It wasn’t “about “ killing” Muslims that inspired this young man . It was about protecting those of his own faith from extermination.

Israel is not a foreign state. If it seems so to you, YOU must ask yourself why that is.

In the status of nations are we "Under God" or not, in your view? And what is God's view of Israel do you say?

If G-d is our Father, can Israel be foreign to us?

Israel is not a “foreign state”. It is the 51st state. Same values, same democracy, same enemies.

Levin is an inspiration to all free men everywhere.
Some talk, some complain, some do.
Michael was a man of action protecting the tiny, beautiful democratic state called Israel, defending our ability to be here writing, to enjoy going to a restaurant or sitting on a bus without being blown up by Islamic Jihad.

When an American GI dies in Iraq, we feel it here in Israel. When an IDF soldier closes his eyes in Israel the wet tears should be felt from Long Island to the California coast.

We are and will always be brothers in arms.

Some study of American history is due:

Lafayette's Visit to America
In February 1824, U.S. President James Monroe, and the U.S. Congress, invited the Marquis de Lafayette, the Revolutionary War hero and American icon, to visit the United States. Lafayette arrived in New York City on 24 August 1824 to an enormous patriotic reception and parade. Over the course of sixteen months, he toured virtually all areas of the country and spent time with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Lafayette visited Braddock's Field, Niagara, and other scenes of the Revolution and culminated his trip with a fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston. He ended his tour with return visits to New York and Washington, D.C. On 7 December 1825, Lafayette departed for France. Since Lafayette arrived in the United States with little left of his inheritance, Congress rewarded his patriotism with $200,000 in cash and a township of land. At sixty-eight, Lafayette returned to his native home a rich man and an adopted son of America.

Lafayette, a foreigner, America's adopted son.

your post was certainly honest and in my opinion wrong-Israel is not the equivalent of a 51st state-even Puerto Rico,where birth entitles one to US citizenship is not.Israel has their own interests as do we-they don’t always coincide.Israel has done very well defending itself and i read that recently they have been experiencing a problem with avoidance of military service-this was virtually unheard of in the past except by the ulra-orthodox,and that is another issue altogether which is somewhat off-topic here.If one is a zionist,okay become an Israeli,but you can’t have a foot in two boats at once-i support Israel in their conflict with those who threaten them,but i just don’t have any special feeling for any country other than my own-i am jewish because my parents were,but i’m not obsevant-i believe in God,but not in any religion and not in the concept of Chosen People but for those who do i have no disrespect;belief is an individual matter.if Israel’s back is to the wall,they have enough nuclear munitions to seriously depopulate the islamic world as far away as Iran.To me militant islam is and always has been the worst threat to the world after communism,which seems to be on the decline,or masquerading as environmentalism,or un supremcacy.

i don’t know God’s view of Israel - as far as nations “under God”the belief in a Creator is part of our founding ethic,but to be honest the creation of modern day Israel is the result partially of the rearrangement of the middle east following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and partially as a reaction to the Holocaust-the zionists of the nineteenth century were not of one voice in suggesting the location of the zionist state in its present borders-areas as disparate as Argentina and Uganda were suggested-peresent day israel is a political state like the rest of the world’s countries-they’ve been targeted non stop for destruction by certain elements-islamists,pan-arabists,euro trash left wingers and their brethren in the United States like ward churchill and jimmy carter,however i don’t see how Israel can be considered an extension of the United States-we share similar beliefs-as we do with Australia,New Zealand,Philippines,Great Britain,and the emerging democracies of eastern europe.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.