What’s in a name?
A soldier’s life story
The fighting is harder than predicted in this no-name war. Hizbullah prepared itself well and received a lot of technical support from Iran and Syria. Israel lacks quality intelligence. The home front is still strong and determined, but for how long? Hasbara — the PR war — is so-so. We lost three helicopters and an F-16 because of unnecessary
accidents. The free press is starting to ask difficult questions.
All of the above are indeed real and hard issues to deal with, but the most difficult moments for us here are the news reports about the Israel Defense Forces casualties. This is a reality that one can’t get used to. It is, unfortunately, part and parcel of our lives here, and yet it is so difficult.
Because of the many encounters, living bridges, and partnerships that our community has developed with Israel, there is, like many times before, a MetroWest connection to a recent loss which I would like to share with you. It demonstrates the notion that we are indeed one big family.
Sergey Valsiuk grew up in Ukraine. His father was a major in the Ukrainian army, and his mother worked for the government. At the age of 16, Sergey decided to move to Israel by himself and was accepted to Na’aleh, a Jewish Agency program for young people who come to Israel before their parents.
He joined a group of 15 Na’aleh kids in the kibbutzim regional high school of Mevo’ot Ha’Negev, was adopted by a family in Kibbutz Lahav, and did his best to become a full Israeli: He learned Hebrew quickly, made friends, studied hard, and even changed his Russian name to a very Israeli, authentic biblical Hebrew name: Yonatan, the warrior and hero from the Bible.
After graduating from school, when it was time for him to decide about his future, he didn’t think twice. He volunteered to serve in an elite IDF combat unit, hoping to be an officer like his father and to live up to his biblical namesake.
An aside: UJC MetroWest NJ supports Na’aleh and similar programs that allow young immigrants (olim) to be integrated in Israel. We help bring parents of “lone soldiers” to reunite with their kids after many years of separation. We support Zionist and Jewish education of olim in the IDF, and we help fund Nativ, an army program that promotes Jewish identity and, if needed, conversion for immigrant soldiers.
A couple of years ago, the MetroWest Religious Pluralism Committee received a proposal from the Mevo’ot Ha’Negev high school asking us to support its Na’aleh group by providing Jewish identity enrichment. The rationale behind it was that this group is very isolated in the Negev and therefore needs some additional support to better connect them to their Jewish roots, the land, and the people of Israel and to explore religious pluralism and more. The secular kibbutzim school faculty suggested that in order for the Na’aleh kids to become full Israelis and committed soldiers, they have to start with basic Jewish values. MetroWest approved the program and funded it.
In March 2005, a delegation of MetroWest leaders participating in the Religious Pluralism Mission met with the Na’aleh Mevo’ot Ha’Negev group. The encounter was held on the Judean hills facing the Elah Valley, where many of the biblical wars took place. The location, purposely chosen, was the traditional burial place of Samson, the biblical warrior. The joint study groups of Na’aleh and MetroWest dealt with the ancient biblical texts that focused on the places and names from the Bible. The kids were bright, enthusiastic, and impressive. Yonatan was not among them, but they were all very much like him.
Back to Yonatan: He successfully finished the hard IDF training course, was placed in the prestigous Golani’s Egoz unit, and was called to Lebanon.
On July 20, soldiers from the unit engaged in a fierce battle with Hizbullah fighters in the village of Maroun Ras. Yonatan and five others were killed in action.
The funeral was delayed because his mother was brought in from Ukraine. She said that originally she wanted to bury him in his old country, but when she saw how he was rooted here she understood that the Negev should become his permanent resting place.
The funeral took place in Kibbutz Lahav. That day I spoke with the principal of the Mevo’ot Ha’Negev school. He told me that he would mention in his eulogy the symbolic name of Yonatan, the biblical hero who was killed in a bitter battle on Mount Gilboa.
God bless the memory of Yonatan (Sergey) Valsiuk, z”l.
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