 As a new immigrant, he wanted to fit in. He learned to speak Hebrew. I still have an accent, always have an accent, but my personal views is if there wasn't an army, there wouldn't be a state of Israel, so. To serve his new country, he joined the military in Israel, where most Jewish citizens perform mandatory military service. Then October 7th came. Hamas-led militants broke out of Gaza and through Israel's fortified security perimeter, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.