Alum reflects on service with Israel Defense Forces

Lehigh alum Gideon Drucker, ’14, put aside his career as a financial adviser to fulfill a long-time dream: to serve the Israeli people in the Israel Defense Forces.

“Right around the time of graduation I realized I needed to do more,” Drucker said. “I needed to physically put myself there like my Israeli brothers and sisters do everyday.”

Drucker explained that he had studied, spoken and worked for the benefit of Israel, but that for him it wasn’t enough. He felt it was his duty, as well as that of his family and Jews all around the world, to defend Israel’s borders and make sure Israelis and the global community of Jewish people always have a place to call home.

Through visiting Israel twice with his family, again on his Birthright trip and studying abroad in Tel Aviv, along with growing up with a father who emphasized the importance of the state of Israel for Jewish people, Drucker said that he’d been there enough and had been brought close to Israeli citizens that he knew he had to do his part.

Drucker joined the IDF through a Jewish volunteer program in September of 2014, and recently finished his training to be a combat paratrooper. Day to day life during training was mostly time in the field, training in the desert, which meant walking 10-12 hours straight, stopping to do drills, shooting, getting very little sleep, eating meals out of cans, and essentially the tough military training one would expect, in addition to learning how to survive in the dessert. 

Among his biggest challenges of leaving the comfort and safety of America, Drucker cited the language barrier and autonomy or age gap.

“The language is the biggest barrier,” Drucker said. “Everyone has side conversations and inside jokes that I try to pick up, there’s definitely that cultural divide.”

Drucker did not know Hebrew before going to Israel, so it was one of the toughest obstacles to overcome.

Additionally, he did his training with 18- and 19-year-olds as a 23-year-old, many of whom conscripted into the army as 18-year-olds. Not only did Drucker come from a different background and language than his peers, but he was at least four years older than everyone he trained with, and had just left Lehigh as an autonomous adult about to begin a career in wealth management. From American university life to being a part of the IDF, with every hour of the day owned by his superiors, the experience took getting used to, he said.

They call him a “lone soldier,” as they call those volunteers and members of the army who have no family in Israel.

“Everyone kind of knows about us and we get amazing help from the army and the government,” Drucker said. “And every family is warm and kind to me. It’s amazing to see how Israelis have responded to me coming over there wanting to be part of their country and their military.”

And while life at Lehigh could never have prepared him for intense military training in the desert, Drucker said the lifelong friendships he built while at Lehigh through his fraternity, Kappa Sigma, and other organizations he was involved with, are the bonds that stay strong and keep him strong even a world away. He stayed connected with his family and friends which helped him get through training.

Drucker’s fraternity brother, Jonathan Mamon, ’16, said that he was extremely passionate about promoting the state of Israel’s right to exist. He also said that while at Lehigh, Drucker founded the Friends of Israel club.

“He really is doing what he loves for the right reasons and he’s not a radical person in any kind of way,” Mamon said. “He’s just a person that has had a strong positive experience, a strong positive rhetoric towards the state of Israel.”

Rabbi Zalman Greenberg, the co-director of Chabad at Lehigh, said that Drucker was a very involved and respected student while at Lehigh. Recently they hosted an event along with other organizations on campus called “Why,” where Drucker shared his story.

“We felt it was really compelling,” Greenberg said. “A lot of times people are passionate about an idea but they wont turn that passion into action and it’s just something that they talk about. But here’s a person who had his whole career and went to join the IDF.

“And this is not somebody who just wants to get some action, this is somebody that feels its his duty and is honored to put his words to action and defend the people of Israel against harm.”

He said the event brought a lot of students in and garnered a lot of conversation and interaction.

Drucker does not forget his American roots either. He said that growing up amid the freedom and democracy that defines America contributed to his desire to defend Israel. After he’s finished with his service in Israel, Drucker will return to America to be with his family and friends and work with his father. He said he’d love to live in Israel and could definitely see himself there, but to be with his family is most important to him.

When Drucker goes back to Israel after his short couple weeks off after training, he’ll be a fully qualified combat paratrooper who will be on guard duty and patrol on Israel’s border, serving as the first line of defense in ensuring Israel’s safety.

“I’m just so passionate about my people, so even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time, the big picture is that it’s all worth it,” Drucker said.