Tamar Fischer – Kibbutz Yechiam 2013

"Garin Tzabar gave me the privilege of having a second family, any difficulty or apprehensions were put away quite quickly knowing the support system I had through Garin Tzabar and my Garin

“In 2012, I came to Israel on a gap year, thinking that afterwards I’d return home to Atlanta, go to college and continue my life in America. I remember the exact day I realized I wanted to join the army. I was sitting on a train, like any other day, when a big group of soldiers came on board. I remember looking at them and realizing that they were my age. Kids my age. If things were different and my family had not moved to America, that would be me right now. It hit me hard. I couldn’t shake off that feeling. And true enough, in 2013, I joined the ranks myself and became one of those soldiers.

I served as a sniper instructor and trained army reserves before they took their post in the West Bank. I had an amazing service, filled with incredible people, experiences and challenges.

It’s hard to summarize these meaningful two years in a few sentences, so I’ll just say that joining the army changed my life and helped mold me into who I am today.

Garin Tzabar felt like the backbone throughout my service. My Garin in Yechiam was with me every step of the way from arriving in Israel, army placement, milestones throughout my services, hanging out on weekends and so much more.

Today, I try to give back to the organization that helped me so much. I volunteer as a counselor on Garin Tzabar, helping the next generation of future lone soldiers decide, just like me, to make this crazy step to join the IDF and fulfill their dreams”