ABOUT

Hello, my name is Ira Kohler! Born and raised on Long Island, my childhood centered around my Jewish community. Yes, I essentially grew up in a "Jewish Bubble." Jewish Day School, a Zionist sleep-away camp, local synagogue, Jewish youth groups and all that jazz. At the age of 18, I left home, and to Delaware I went, beginning my college experience. 

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At Delaware, I made amazing friends and became active in the Jewish community. I loved Delaware, but I wanted, needed to be somewhere else. I studied economics, spent a semester abroad in Jerusalem, and decided to graduate early, a whole year early to be exact.

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With my heart, soul, and a luggage full of clothes; I am planning to make Aliyah and serve my time protecting Israel, as a soldier in the IDF. This is nothing special or crazy, I'm just going to be an Israeli doing what (almost) all Israelis must do.

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Come join me along this journey! In August, I will be off to Israel with Garin Tzabar. Then, after spending several months living on Kibbutz Erez, learning Hebrew and absorbing into Israeli society, I will enlist in November/December. How lucky am I!

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After over two years of service in the IDF as a combat soldier in the 890th battalion of the Paratrooper Brigade, I have made my way back to my home in New York. Now, as I am just returning, I have began public speaking about my time in the army and specifically my experiences in the current Israel-Hamas war. As I continue my life, these experiences and stories over the past several years will accompany me in every direction I go.

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