Sgt. Benjamin Anthony delivers four main talks.
As a veteran combat soldier, Benjamin Anthony and the soldiers he served alongside have seen the tragic cost of war and the price it exacts upon those who participate in it. Despite those horrors and the adversity faced, in this lecture Benjamin expresses why despair must not be the reaction of the soldiers or supporters of Israel. He highlights the shared values that are so bravely fought for by the soldiers of Israel and describes the sources from where inspiration and hope can be drawn even in the face of the most unrelenting hardships or the psychological scars with which most every veteran must live.
Reflecting on the experiences of an observant front line soldier serving behind enemy lines, this lecture explores how Jewish values such as the love of one’s fellow man, the power of prayer and sacrifice for the greater good were all brought to life under the harshest of circumstances. This address explains how at precisely the times when inspiration should be at its most elusive the actions of the soldiers of the IDF made it more palpable and present than ever.
Penned by a British volunteer for active service in the IDF, this lecture compares and contrasts the urgency with which Israel’s sons must become her defenders at a moment’s notice with the life of an 18 year old high school graduate in the Diaspora. It vividly retells the transformation from boys to men that the soldiers of Israel must undergo in order to protect the Jewish Homeland. Drawing on real events, this address confirms what many hope is the case; that in the moment of truth, the soldiers of the IDF are not found wanting, but rather are capable of defending their land, humanely, each time they are forced to do so – even as they pray for peace and a time when they will no longer be called upon to march forward into the night.
This lecture compares and contrasts the lives of Israel’s youth with those of their brethren in the Diaspora and the coming of age which takes place during military service. Though the experiences are vastly different, this address establishes the link between the sons of Israel and the Jewish people they defend throughout world-wide Jewish community.
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