Lt. Col. (res.) Tzvika Levy takes care of thousands of lone soldiers,
doing whatever he can to alleviate the loneliness of serving in the
military without one’s family
Author: Matan Galin
During Sukkot, thousands of lone soldiers- those serving without any
immediate family in the country- make trips to their adoptive families
in kibbutzim across the country. Lt. Col. (res.) Zvika Levi, the “father
of lone soldiers,” is responsible for coordinating and mediating
between these soldiers and their adoptive families.
At the height of preparations for the holiday, Tzvika Levi decided to
start his day with a visit to the northern base of Mikve Alon, where
new immigrants begin their army service. Tzvika sees a mission in these
visits. For him, the greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that every
single soldier will have a sukkah in which they can have a holiday
meal. Tzvika himself celebrated the holiday in his own sukkah hosting
five lone soldiers, just a few of the many that his family has embraced
over the years.
Tzvika, who served in the paratroopers, is no longer in active
service. However, to this day he continues to have daily contact with
soldiers. Every new immigrant in Mikve Alon knows his name, and almost
all will remain in contact with him throughout their service. During
each new round of enlistment, Tzvika makes sure to visit the soldiers in
order to answer their questions and allay their fears. His phone never
stops ringing, whether it is concerned parents in Australia who have yet
to hear from their son, or the soldiers themselves seeking help
adjusting.
Tzika’s inspiration comes from a very personal place. 18 years ago,
Tzvika suffered a tragic loss when his daughter died. Lt. Gen. (res.)
Rafael Eitan was there to provide support. He told him, “It will be good
for you if you take on a small project, something helping soldiers. It
will help you deal with the loss,” and that is exactly what he did.
“They started bringing me soldiers, I would scramble some eggs and
have them sleep over in sleeping bags,” said Tzivka. Yet over time, when
Tzvika could no longer accommodate all of the soldiers coming his home,
he began contacting families on kibbutzim all over Israel in order to
further the project given to him by Eitan.
Tzvika’s choice to accommodate lone soldiers on kibbutzim stems from
his personal ideology. He believes the big city is the wrong place for
the lone soldiers, and he makes sure to emphasize that in every
encounter with them. “A soldier enlists and decides to rent an apartment
in Tel Aviv, coming home to an apartment on the 3rd floor, where he his
neighbors across the hall don’t even know who he is. But when I find a
family that cares for a soldier on a kibbutz, I know the soldier comes
home on the weekends to a hot meal, and a freshly made bed. He comes
home to a mother who worries about him, and looks him in the eye to ask
him how he is. You can’t find that on Dizengoff,” he says.
Most immigrants probably remember their first conversation with
Tzivka right after they enlisted. “No matter where you came from before,
here everyone is Israeli,” he tells them every time. Perhaps this is
the reason for the project’s remarkable success. When Tzvika’s project
began there were some 90 soldiers living on kibbutzim, today there are
almost one thousand. Most of them remain in the country after their
service, some even joining forces with Tzika to help the absorption of
more soldiers like them.
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