Thirty years ago in November 1991 I was inducted to the IDF paratrooper brigade, 101st battalion as a chayal boded (lone soldier) in order to defend Israel and the Jewish people. This was in the wake of Sadaam shooting scud missiles at us in the first Gulf War. While I had never seriously considered military service earlier in my life, this experience awakened in me the love of our homeland and people and compelled me to serve.

In my heart I’m an academic and a deep believer in classical liberalism. In the US I don’t fit the mold of Democrat or Republican, as neither party fully embrace the ideas and principles of our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Academics usually think that words are sufficient to make a difference. The truth is that conviction must be supported by action. As they say, freedom is not free.

I’m proud of my service in the IDF. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of it fondly. Despite some initial difficulties and injuries, I became a very good soldier. It means a lot to me personally, but in truth I was simply a small and relatively insignificant part of a much greater history spanning thousands of years.

Judaism was the original progressive movement. For thousands of years our ideas, beliefs and traditions have led the world forward toward peace, liberty and justice for all. That has made us the enemy of a lot of people and engendered a lasting hatred, what I call classical anti-semitism. This still exists of course and remains powerful – Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, the UN, etc. Israel has stood since 1948 as the place where all Jews are welcome and safe.

In recent decades, in my opinion, a much more pernicious and dangerous form of anti-semitism has developed in western countries. The world of social justice and progressive politics has created a monster that defines freedom as tyranny and seeks power to overthrow liberty in the name of progress. We saw Jews embrace this with the rise of Communism in Russia in the late 19th century, and now we see American Jews embracing totalitarian policies in the name of social justice, beginning in the late 20th century. The parallels are striking, even down to a (coincidental) global pandemic.

This progressive movement is far more dangerous than thugs in Iran with access to oil, money and enriched uranium. The West is in a battle of ideas – equality of opportunity, versus equality of outcome. We’ve seen progressive regimes murder more people in history – China under Mao in the Great Leap Forward, Soviet Russia, even the Nazis (National SOCIALIST Workers Party) were a form of left wing attitudes. Everywhere that this ideology has risen to power, it has corrupted and caused death, despair, poverty and misery. Power corrupts, and any ideology that requires absolute power to force its goals on everyone, is guaranteed to fail, as absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Sadly, just like classical anti-semitism and its dictators, monarchs & generals, this new progressive totalitarian ideology requires an enemy. That enemy is Israel, America, and, of course, Jews. The leaders of this ideology use the tools of democracy to subvert freedom and spread their hatred. They already have a foothold in the US Congress, and long ago conquered American academia.

Wars of ideology must ultimately be won with better ideas. The western ideals, espoused in the US Declaration of Independence and Constitution, deriving from Judeo-Christian thought, and exemplified in the State of Israel, are in fact better. Ours is a superior belief system and culture. With love and kindness our ideas will ultimately prevail. However, in every multi-generational battle of ideas, there come times that the force of arms is necessary to defend our lives and freedom.

There are many fronts in this battle of ideas, and the IDF is the tip of the spear in many. As Jews and as Americans, it is our moral duty to support the IDF. The IDF and Israel stands to defend the Jewish people everywhere in the world. It is a unique and special institution. One of the amazing attributes is that a young American idealist can join and participate in our historic journey as a people. I am lucky and honored to have been able to serve this wonderful institution.

Not everyone can volunteer or fight, but everyone can support the IDF and especially the Lone Soldier Program, which uniquely bring Jews in from around the world to serve their country and their people. When I served I was largely on my own and had to figure out how to get housing, travel to and from my bases, navigate the bureaucracy, etc. Today there is a wonderful organization called the Friends of the IDF (FIDF), a group I am proud to be a member of.

Now I’m a 54 year old, thinking about my children, my health and how I can leave a lasting legacy, example and impact on the things I care most deeply about – Freedom, Liberty, Israel, and my family and people. A few years ago I took up the sport of triathlon to improve my health. For those who don’t know what a triathlon is, it is a race that starts with a swim, continues with a bike ride, and ends in a run. Various distances are common. I’ve raced quite a few olympic distance races (about 32 miles total), and several Half Ironman races (70.3 miles total).

A full Ironman is 140.6 miles – it starts with a 2.4 mile swim, continues on a 112 mile bike ride, and wraps up with a marathon! On November 21, I will start my first full Ironman race around 7am. It will likely take me 14-15 hours to complete. As it turns out, this is almost exactly 30 years to the day from when I joined the IDF. Actually, I think I’m in better physical condition now than I was then at 24 years old.

So, if I’m going to put myself through this challenging experience, I might as well use it as a tool to support the young volunteers who risk their lives to protect ours as lone soldiers in the IDF. I see it as a win/win. If you’ve read this far, you already tolerate me far more than I deserve, and you care about Israel as much as I do. So, click the Donate button now, and give as much as you can!

While I’m slogging through my longest day since something or other I did in the army, I’ll be motivated to keep going, to swim another buoy, ride another mile, run just one more step and finish this thing, knowing you are behind me, thinking about me, supporting me, in my mission to support our people.

Shalom!

Scott