A New Jersey man came to Israel for his son’s birth but joined the IDF to fight Hamas

It was supposed to be a time of celebration – Lior Elimelech’s family just welcomed his newborn son; it was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, and the Shabbat before his sister was set to be married. Yet a national tragedy soon swept all their plans away and sent Elimelech into a war that would keep him away from his family for over 120 days.

Elimelech was born in New York but moved with his family to Israel when he was five. He returned to the US a year and a half ago and started a carpentry and wood construction business in New Jersey.

The couple’s son would have been the first grandson on both sides of the family, so to make the birth easier for the entire clan Elimelech and his wife traveled to Israel. They were supposed to return home to the US on October 10.Elimelech’s son was only 30 days old when the sirens rang out, and news began to surface of the October 7 pogrom conducted by Hamas in Israel’s south.

“I quickly understood where this was going,” said Elimelech.

A call to service

He hadn’t been on reserve duty since he left for the US, but he called his officer. They were both in shock. On October 8, Elimelech joined his tank unit, attached to a mandatory service brigade.

At first, he was a tank commander with no tanks – his  crew worked servicing tanks in the north of Israel. When the brigade commander saw that his company was serious, he allocated to them four and then six tanks.

Elimelech’s company was soon riding these tanks into Shuja’iyya and Bureij to fight Hamas terrorists.

“Every day you think about your baby,” said Elimelech. “You begin to have thoughts of ‘will I return?’”

Elimelech and his company served 100 days in Gaza, braving all sorts of attacks. In one incident, a mortar fell near his tank, showering the armored vehicle with shrapnel.

In one dramatic incident, the company was advancing through Gaza with their infantry escort alongside. Suddenly, an explosive projectile hit the opposite side of the tank. If the vehicle hadn’t been there, the foot soldiers would have been struck.

“I returned from the war not the same man,” said Elimelech. “We never return the same person.”

The reservist said that people have to choose what type of person they wish to be, and no one goes through life without changing. Sometimes this change is through dramatic moments like war.

Elimelech was recently released. His son had grown so much since he last saw him.

“My wife is a hero, she succeeded in raising our boy alone, which isn’t easy,” said Elimelech.

Elimelech returned to his family, in time to celebrate his sister’s wedding, which had been pushed off until his release from the military.

Though now he can catch up with his family, returning is not easy. As with many soldiers, there is a sense that he is missing out, that the war continues without him – hostages still cannot see their own families. Yet he also needs to rest, and everyone needs to do their small part toward victory.

Victory, according to Elimelech, was obtained through “Unity, unity, unity,” between Israel’s “Right, left, center, Arab, secular, religious.”

He continued, “When we are united, we are the strongest in the world, and when we’re not October 7 happens.”