President Rivlin Attends Passover Seder with IDF Lone Soldiers

Lone soldiers are better known as those who have come to Israel without their families abroad. However, they also include Israelis from broken homes.

By United With Israel Staff

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin celebrated the Passover Seder with IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi and 400 lone soldiers from some 35 countries on Friday as Jews around the world began the major Jewish festival. The event took place at a facility of  Yahad-United for Israel’s Soldiers, the official body for donations which benefit IDF soldiers.

“I am delighted to be celebrating this festive holiday evening with you, dear soldiers,” said the president.

“Our ancestors celebrated the first Passover as they were leaving Egypt for Israel, and it marked their move from slavery to freedom. Today, Passover is a holiday where families gather for the Seder meal. We are your family and you are our family,” Rivlin told the Seder participants, according to a spokesman’s statement.

Lone soldiers are better known as those who have come to Israel without their families abroad. However, they also include Israelis from broken homes.

In fact, the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin in Jerusalem says that of the over 7,000 lone soldiers currently serving in the IDF, “about 45% of these soldiers are new immigrants, coming from Jewish communities all over the world,” but “another 50% are Israelis who are orphans or who come from low socio-economic backgrounds.”

“Each one of you comes from a different background. But you all have in common the fact that you chose to give of yourselves for the benefit of the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” said Rivlin.

Source: United with Israel