American-Israeli Soldier Commits Suicide in Third Case of 2019

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American-Israeli Soldier Commits Suicide in Third Case of 2019

Israeli military denies 'worrying trend' after 19-year-old combat soldier, whose parents live abroad, dies by suicide

JTA
May 21, 2019

A 19-year-old American woman serving as a combat soldier in the Israeli army died by suicide last week.

Michaela Levit, 19, is the third Israeli “lone soldier” to die by suicide this year. Lone soldiers are largely expatriates who serve in the Israel Defense Forces while their parents live overseas.

Levit, whose parents reside in Miami, moved to Israel in 2017 and served in a mixed-gender combat battalion.

An Israeli relative, Shlomit Levy Tsamir, wrote on Facebook that Levit was “full of motivation and excitement, she wanted to serve in a combat unit as a fighter and commander, and quickly became an outstanding soldier in Caracal,” her unit.
“Mika was a smiling and strong girl, always ready to help and give of herself, and despite hardship in a stressful military system like the IDF, took everything upon herself with love and by choice," Tsamir wrote.
Tsamir said Levit left a note saying that she was “dealing with hardships,” but did not specify what they were.

The Israeli military and soldiers’ advocates denied reports of a “worrying trend” of rising suicide rates among the lone soldiers following two suicides and a deadly drug overdose this year.





Related

America-First: MAGA's top funder wants his children to serve in Israeli military (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?533663-America-First-MAGA-s-top-funder-wants-his-children-to-serve-in-Israeli-military&)

[Swordsmyth]

I fail to see how this is a matter of US Politics.

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I fail to see how this is a matter of US Politics.

America-First is very much a matter of US Politics especially considering GOP-Adelson's top funders support of such a trend of Amerixans serving in foreign militaries. Do you support such a trend?

Just as is US taxpayers money being spent on foreign soldiers .. as I'm sure you'll agree.

U.S. to give $38 billion aid to Israel (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?529405-U-S-to-give-38-billion-aid-to-Israel&)

[Swordsmyth]

America-First is very much a matter of US Politics
This has nothing to do with A1st or what you really mean.


especially considering GOP-Adelson's top funders support of such a trend of Amerixans serving in foreign militaries. Do you support such a trend?
Americans have always been free to do this and nothing about it has changed recently nor are any changes proposed.


Just as is US taxpayers money being spent on foreign soldiers .. as I'm sure you'll agree.

U.S. to give $38 billion aid to Israel (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?529405-U-S-to-give-38-billion-aid-to-Israel&)



That has nothing to do with this thread.


This thread doesn't belong in US politics unless something happens about the story that actually affects US politics.


Why you even bothered to put it here I shall never know it doesn't help your little jihad against Israel or the one against Trump at all.

[enhanced_deficit]

Why are you bothered by its posting here in first place?

Americans opting to fight for a foreign country instead of their own is very much a political topic especially looking at current state of US political funding, foreign interventions, blowbacks and lobbies role.

[Swordsmyth]

Why are you bothered by its posting here in first place?
I don't like worthless posts being used to down bump stories that actually belong in US Politics.


Americans opting to fight for a foreign country instead of their own is very much a political topic especially looking at current state of US political funding, foreign interventions, blowbacks and lobbies role.
No it isn't unless someone tries to ban it.

[enhanced_deficit]

Interesting, it appears 1967 Israeli war may have got the laws changed in the US:


1,000 Americans Are Serving in the Israeli Army and They Aren’t Alone

Steinberg and Carmeli were not alone in Israel. Today, the Jewish state has one of the largest number of Americans serving in its military, with roughly 1,000 Americans who did not grow up there serving, said Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokeswoman Lt. Libby Weiss. In total, it has about 4,000 non-Israeli-born troops.

While Israel is a bit of a special case—foreign-born Jews often serve in the Israeli military thanks to that country’s right of return—three other militaries either actively recruit Americans or are open to them. Australia and New Zealand both have programs to fill spots in their militaries by active-duty or veteran service members, and the French Foreign Legion is legendary for taking almost anyone who shows up at their recruitment offices outside Paris. (Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl reportedly tried to join the Legion (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/13-things-you-need-to-know-about-bowe-bergdahl-20140602) before enlisting in the U.S. Army.)

But estimating the number of Americans serving in foreign militaries is fiendishly difficult, since it includes both U.S. citizens serving in the aforementioned militaries and dual-citizens serving in the militaries of the other countries. A State Department official said the department doesn’t track who is serving in foreign armies.


For the most part, this is all legal. Prior to 1967, Americans risked losing their citizenship if they joined a foreign military or even voted in a foreign election. That year, the Supreme Court decision in Afroyim v. Rusk established that citizenship is a constitutional right and can’t be stripped involuntarily. So, you’re free to join up with whatever military that will take you, as long as you don’t engage in active hostilities against the U.S. What is illegal is recruiting within the U.S. So, traveling to Israel to join is OK, but the IDF won’t be setting up next to the U.S. Army recruiting station in Times Square any time soon.

Of course, non-state actors, such as al Qaeda, ISIS, the FSA, Libyan rebels, etc. accept Americans, but that’s frowned upon by the State Department.
One peril while serving in a foreign military: the possibility of committing war crimes. Chuckie Taylor, son of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, was an American citizen who was convicted in 2008 in Florida for torture in the Liberian civil war. He was the first American convicted on U.S. soil for crimes against humanity in another country.

And let’s not even get into the case of John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban,” currently serving time after being captured in Afghanistan in 2001. His family argued in his trial that he only joined a foreign military, the Taliban, and didn’t intend to fight the U.S., but that didn’t fly.


The U.S. military likewise is open to non-citizens, with all active-duty personnel able to file for citizenship immediately and receive expedited treatment from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. From September 2002 to May 2013, almost 90,000 members of the Armed Forces gained citizenship.


https://www.thedailybeast.com/1000-americans-are-serving-in-the-israeli-army-and-they-arent-alone

[Swordsmyth]

Interesting, it appears 1967 Israeli war may have got the laws changed in the US:



https://www.thedailybeast.com/1000-americans-are-serving-in-the-israeli-army-and-they-arent-alone

That's a nice find, it belongs in "History".