Team Yoav November 2020

Team Yoav drafted in November 2012 to the anti-tank and forward operations company of the reconnaissance battalion of the 35th infantry brigade (the Paratroopers). Over the course of the next 14 months we underwent an intense period of training as well as various specialised courses to turn us into a tight-knit and well-trained fighting force. Despite the long hours of training we became good friends and to this day continue to meet up even though we are no longer in the army. Our team’s diversity is not only what turned us into a formidable fighting force, but is also the factor that makes our team unique. Members of our team come from all across the country, from various backgrounds and have branched off into various fields of study and work .No matter how much time passes or where we happen to see each other there is always a certain unexplained joy that only one who has shared the mutual experiences of the team can understand. Only weeks before our concluding exercise we received a chilling message from Battalion Command: three Israeli teenagers had been kidnapped, everyone was to return to base immediately and the concluding exercise was postponed indefinitely. Within hours we found ourselves on the outskirts of Hebron searching for any piece of information that could help us locate the three kidnapped boys. Operation “Brother’s Keeper” had begun Having only a few days to recover and under the constant threat of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, the team was called back yet again, this time to defend the south of Israel we became some of the first soldiers to cross into Gaza and begin the arduous task of pushing back the Hamas and identifying the tunnels that its operatives had dug under the border Despite our successes, we also knew pain and loss. The experience left us feeling empty: up until that point we hadn’t entertained the thought that we could sustain so many casualties in one event. The pain in the ruins of a Gaza was a strong reminder of our own mortality and left its mark on many of the soldiers in the team Military requirements meant that we had little time to properly appreciate and process the events and many question marks still remained in our minds despite, at least temporarily, the threat of war being over. While we have all released from active duty and have moved on to other pursuits, the events of that summer still manifest themselves throughout our daily lives, often when we least expect it. In order to attempt to gain some closure on the events of that summer we approached the “Bshvil Ha’Machar” Foundation who run workshops to assist combat veterans to cope with the trauma that they experienced during their military service on both a personal and group level In order to facilitate the participation of all the members of the team we request that you donate to the “Team Yoav” fund at the “Bshvil Ha’Machar” Foundation. All donations are tax deductible and “Bshvil Ha’Machar” is an Israeli registered charity. We thank you for your generosity