Havneh Feder-Haugabook, a 19-year-old lone soldier from San Francisco who on Monday received the purple beret given to Givati Brigade soldiers, never imagined how exciting and formative his three months of basic training would prove. Feder-Haugabook immigrated to Israel from the U.S. 15 months ago, shortly after his father, African-American civil rights activist James Benjamin Haugabook, passed away. His mother, Debbie Feder-Haugabook, and 17-year-old sister still live in San Francisco. "I visited Israel a lot and it was clear to me I would come to serve in a combat unit and contribute to the country's security," the new Givati soldier said. "I wanted to do something meaningful in life and not drift along in a meaningless college life of drugs and alcohol, which could lead me to a bad place." Feder-Haugabook arrived in the country with a group of pre-army immigrants who were assigned to Kibbutz Kissufim near the Gaza border, and has an adoptive family on the kibbutz. After a short acclimation period, he began Hebrew language studies in Raanana, and last December was drafted into the IDF and started an intensive Hebrew course for soldiers at the Mikveh Alon base in the Galilee. He then completed basic training in the Givati Brigade, which was, he says, the most significant period of his life. "The icon of my platoon was Staff Sgt. Liel Gidoni, who was killed during Operation Protective Edge along with his commander, Maj. Benaya Sarel," he said. "I was in shock, because he was the one who encouraged me, gave me motivation and symbolized for me what a fighter was. His death was a shock, but I knew we had to go on." He was particularly moved this week when his mother, Debbie, whom he had not seen in a year, came to Israel to see her son sworn into Givati. Havneh says his mother and sister supported his move to Israel despite the difficulty for them following his father's death, which he says was a "family disaster." Zvika Levy, head of the Lone Soldiers Program in the Kibbutz Movement, says he salutes soldiers like Feder-Haugabook, who are driven to serve in combat units.
'It was clear I'd come to Israel and serve in a combat unit'
19-year-old immigrant from San Francisco receives Givati Brigade's purple beret • I wanted a meaningful life, says Havneh Feder-Haugabook • His mother, Debbie, comes from California for the ceremony.
Load more...