Harel Rush came to Syracuse University from Los Angeles in the fall of 2012 to study mechanical engineering. Like a majority of freshmen, he joined different organizations, such as the Hillel Jewish Student Union. He enjoyed the challenges of his classes and the other opportunities the university presented.

But for Harel, even before he came to SU, his mind had already been made up.

At the end of his freshman year, in the spring of 2013, Harel filed a leave of absence form and volunteered to be a soldier for the Israeli Defense Force. He is currently stationed in Gaza.

Serving for Israel has been a family tradition for Harel. His grandfather served in Israel’s War for Independence in 1948, and his mother volunteered during Israel’s Peace in the Galilee campaign during the Lebanon War in 1982. With the development of his “tremendous pride” for Israel, Harel wanted to follow in their footsteps and be a part of the protection of Israel.

“I knew if I didn’t join the Israeli Army, I would regret it for the rest of my life,” he said in an email.

Harel’s father, Jordan, said the family background of serving for Israel may have planted the seed for his son to join the IDF. Harel added that his grandfather was a big inspiration for his joining and the two talk of the importance of volunteering for the Israeli Army.

When Harel went to his parents with the idea of joining the IDF, his father said he was incredibly proud of his son. His mother, Mina Rush, said she thought Harel, “would get caught up in the excitement of university life and forget his plan.” When she heard her son was still planning to volunteer, she said she was proud. But she gave her son a deadline.

“When he first told me he was seriously considering it, I told him to let me know for sure within three weeks because the final deposit to Syracuse was coming up,” Mina Rush said. “By the time he said he had decided to join I had already paid the deposit.  He said fine, but after the first year he would defer and come back to Israel.”

Harel said in an email that he enjoyed his year at SU studying mechanical engineering.

During his time at SU, Rush was a “frequent and friendly face around Hillel,” Zach Goldberg, president of the Hillel Jewish Student Union, said in an email.

“I honestly did not get to know Harel as well as I wanted to or could have, but he was always a kind, polite, quiet person,” Goldberg said. “He was always just a friendly face to see around Hillel.”

Harel’s freshmen year roommate, John Trea, said Harel became his best friend at SU and described him as courageous, confident and spirited.

“It shows how much Israel means to him,” Trea said. “Dropping college to join the army is such a wild thing to do. Joining an army in a different country is even more crazy, but it’s noble.”

Trea, now a junior electrical engineering major, said he and Rush stay in contact through social media, mostly Snapchat and Facebook.

While Rush had made up his mind about leaving SU, his aunt, Suzanne Fenton, said she and her husband thought he should have stayed in school at least another year. When it came time to leave SU, the university was very supportive of Harel’s decision and all he had to do was fill out a leave of absence form.

“He had recently spent a year studying in Israel so I thought it best to hunker down, become college educated, then volunteer,” Fenton said in an email. “What’s the rush? As it turned out, his timing was perfect.”

In late July, Fenton wrote an essay on the website TCJewfolk.com as a tribute to her nephew.

“I wanted to put a human face on this so-called Israeli monster,” she said. “The world should understand that every soldier in an IDF uniform is someone’s son, grandson, boyfriend, husband, best friend, father, cousin, neighbor and nephew.”

In the essay, Fenton detailed the feelings a family goes through with a loved-one in the military.

She writes: “My sister phones in tears. Our brand new soldier is going to Gaza. Silence.”

Despite having seen their father go away and serve, both Fenton and Mina Rush say they still worry about Harel.

“There were days that my husband and I were so paralyzed that the most we could do was hit the refresh button on the computer to get news updates,” Mina Rush said.

Her husband agreed: “You just try to busy yourself as much as you can, but there is a lot of constant worrying,” Jordan Rush said. “He knows to call when he gets out, to let us know that he’s safe.”

His family has also provided tangible support to help aid Harel. After he informed them of the need for new bulletproof vests and kit bags for his unit, his sister, Tzvia, came up with the idea of raising funds for the materials. The crowd-funded campaign raised over $15,000 and Tzvia Rush is traveling to Israel to bring the check to her brother’s unit.

For Harel, serving in the IDF is all about the defense of his beloved country and keeping the nation his family members protected safe.

“The ground entry into Gaza was essential for the protection of Israel and its citizens,” he said. “Hamas has been firing thousands of rockets into Israel with civilians as its aim since 2001, putting about 8 million citizens at risk. At what point do we say, ‘enough is enough?’”

Harel also said his pride for Israel has grown with the experience.

“My pride for Israel has definitely grown since I started serving,” he said. “Just to witness how all of Israel came together in time of war. So many random people would come by and drop off donations and cards. They would sing and dance with us. Everyone was united and filled with pride. No one felt alone.”

Published on August 28, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306