Wow, this kid was in my graduating class (killed in Lebanon)

[Riddick]

Never knew him, never had a class with him, only remember him because I heard that he went to Israel immediately following graduation and joined the IDF. Second story below is how he was killed + the rescue mission to recover his body.

story

His dream was to serve in IDF

US-born Michael Levine shortened family trip in order to come back to Israel and fight. In Lebanon he made the ultimate sacrifice
Eli Senyor

Staff sergeant Michael Levine, 22, announced to his mother already at the age of 16 that he wanted to immigrate to Israel and enlist to a combat unit in the IDF. Four days ago, Michael shortened a trip to the States to visit his family in order to return to Israel and to fight in the north. Tuesday, Michael's mother received the bitter news in Philadelphia: Michael, who followed his dream and enlisted to the paratroopers, was killed in the difficult battle near Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon.

Michael immigrated from Mangold, Pennsylvania three years ago, leaving behind his parents and two brothers. He lived in the religious Kibbutz Yavneh, and after, moved to an apartment in Jerusalem with two other soldiers.

Reut, Michael's friend from the kibbutz, said that he was always funny and friendly: "I met Michael when he immigrated from the US three years ago. When he first arrived, he studied in the ulpan (special class for learning Hebrew) on Kibbutz Yavneh, and that's where I met him. It was very important for him to go to a combat unit in the army, even though he didn't have to enlist. He simply wasn't ready to give up. I remember him as a funny guys, friendly and sweet. He had a lot of friends on the kibbutz, and some that he met in Jerusalem."

A short while ago, Michael received a special discharge from the army in order to visit his family in the United States. Upon hearing news about the outbreak of war in the north, he decided to shorten his vacation, and returned to Israel four days ago. His friends say that he went to his commanders and asked to be sent immediately to the northern border.

The consulate representatives that arrived at Michael's family's house to inform his parents of the devastating news, found his mother talking on the phone with her friends. His mother, who sensed something terrible had happened to her son, had started calling friends to try and find out how he was doing. They didn't know how to tell her that he had been killed in battle.

'Just a fantastic kid'

Tziki Oud, who serves as a kind of adoptive father for lone soldiers from the US and is the manager of the Immigrant Information Center in the Jewish Agency, said Tuesday that he couldn't believe that Michael was no longer around. "I still don't know how to eulogize him. Only two weeks ago we sat and ate together in Jerusalem. He told me that he really wanted to be an officer and to go to commanders' course. He asked if I could help him. He was part of a band of lone soldiers from the States who were very close. Everyone is very sad today. One of his friends called me and said that because of Michael's comic personality, he is positive Michael is going to call any minute and say 'Gotcha!' "

"Michael was just a fantastic kid who gave his all to the army. He really wanted to be accepted into the commandos. In one of our last conversations he told that he has no problem going through the entire paratroopers track all over again if they would ultimately let him join the commandos. I met his mother in one of his ceremonies. She was worried, but accommodated herself to her son's desire to enlist in the IDF. It was a strong desire that he had from a young age."

Oud goes on to say that the soldier that he himself adopted, Yonatan Marcus, was one of Michael's good friends, and was lightly injured in battle: "Last Saturday Yonatan came to me after returning from battle in Bint Jbeil. He had a very difficult experience there and said that he didn't want to go back until he said goodbye to all his friends. He was traumatized by what he experienced there."

"He, like all the other lone soldiers, cannot comprehend that Michael is no more. They call me and say that they still expect him to just show up. He had a good heart and there isn't one American in Jerusalem that doesn't know him. We lost one of our most optimistic kids. He had his feet on the ground and never hurt anyone."

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IDF retrieves body of 5th fallen soldier in Avivim

Released for publication: Fifth soldier from Egoz unit killed in Avivim battle. During18 hours, he was termed ‘missing’ until his body was extricated and returned to Israel Saturday in sensitive rescue misison. Soldier was ‘lone soldier’ who immigrated to Israel and joined army on own initiative
Hanan Greenberg

Following a day of uncertainty, the army located the body of a fallen soldier from the Egoz unit who was killed during battles against Hizbullah Thursday in the southern Lebanese village of Marun a-Ras. His name has not yet been released for publication, as he is a ‘lone soldier’ who immigrated to Israel without his family and joined the army on his own initiative. Thus, the number of IDF casualties in the battle has risen to five. Six more soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

The soldier’s body was found Friday afternoon, although the IDF decided to retrieve it Saturday, fearing that more fighting would erupt in the area. Troops secured the area until the body was extricated to ensure it would not be captured by Hizbullah operatives.

The four fallen soldiers are Staff Sergeant Liran Saadiah, 21, from Kiryat Shmona, Major Benji Hillman, 27, of Raanana, Staff Sergeant Rafanel Muskal, 21, of Mazkeret Batya, and Staff Sergeant Nadav Balua, 21, of Carmiel.

Complex rescue mission

On Saturday night the mission to extricate the body from Marun a-Ras was completed and the fallen soldier was transferred to Israel. During the 18 hours preceding, the soldier was termed “missing,” and the IDF unit for locating missing soldiers worked to decipher aerial photographs to discover his precise location. Drones and other technological means were dispatched over the area to aid in surveillance.

Army sources described the operation as complicated and said it took many hours planning.

According to soldiers in the unit, during the battle the fallen soldier had been aiding in the evacuation of wounded troops, and he had been carrying a stretcher together with colleagues. At a certain point, before they reached the IDF Puma armored vehicle, he asked to be switched for unknown reasons – possibly because he was wounded or did not feel well. According to assessments, the soldier collapsed in the area, and there was a chance he was hit by the Puma vehicle. Only after the wounded were evacuated did it become apparent that he was missing and troops began searching the area.

On Friday his body was located, although forces operating in the area decided not to immediately retrieve it out of concern due to the heavy enemy gunfire. It was decided to deploy soldiers to secure the area and prevent terrorists from attempting to snatch the soldier's body. During that time, the event was barred from publication so that sensitive information would not end up in the hands of Hizbullah.

Difficult battle, heavy gunfire

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz confirmed that in the battle by Avivim some 13 Hizbullah fighters were killed. “We are now weighing what to do with the slain Hizbullah members. We don’t trade in corpses like Hizbullah does, and we will not change our customary conduct.” Halutz noted that the IDF does not kidnap bodies to use as trading chips, “but we can’t leave the bodies scattered in territory which others can’t reach (to collect them) out of human respect,” he added.

The battle in Avivim was one of the most difficult confrontations since the beginning of the operation in Lebanon. “We were under heavy enemy fire - rockets, shells, all types of weapons,” a senior officer related. The entire village, apparently, had become over the years a Hizbullah stronghold, replete with bunkers, cellars and bases. “They turned the population into human shields,” he said.

“Sadly, in this war we will have more casualties. We expect this. We have a strong army that must fight this terror organization, which threatens Israel’s security,” the officer added.

[Bob Sacamano]

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he went to Israel immediately following graduation and joined the IDF.

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[Lazy Meatball]

-seems like a very biased source-

not to take anything away from your post.

just hope this doesn't get political.

[Riddick]

[ QUOTE ]
-seems like a very biased source-

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Umm, biased in favor of what? The dead kid's memory?

[Lazy Meatball]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
-seems like a very biased source-

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Umm, biased in favor of what? The dead kid's memory?

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pretty much.

A straight news source wouldn't have gone into as much detail about the man's friends and family. I'm not saying that the report is horrible and innaccurate, just saying it is very sympathetic to the subject at hand.

Is a news source really capeable of determining how 'difficult' a battle is?

[jcmoussa]

i hate israel.

[Seether]

Could you have made a more trollish post? Honestly this post has nothing to do with how biased a report may or may not be, its about someone from his high school class that died serving in the Israeli army. Why do you need to take it farther?

[2+2 wannabe]

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i hate israel.

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very productive

[Lazy Meatball]

My post wasn't trollish at all. I objectively reviewed the article (in my opinion), considering I have little interest in either side (although personallly I'm for Israel defending itself.) What inflamatory opinons have I brough t up?

[imitation]

I hope someone lebanese makes a post "wow, these people were my countryman (killed be israelites)"