From the US to Modiin
I made aliyah in 2020 with my wife and our three children, leaving behind a life in the United States shaped by entrepreneurship, creativity, and constant forward motion.
Before moving to Israel, my career revolved around building and scaling businesses, investing in startups at the ideation stage, and working in the creative world. I collaborated on compositions for major networks such as ABC and ESPN, as well as for advertising agencies, through DreamArtists Studios. I also founded DoItInPerson.com and the Tanz Group, both focused on the event space, and lived the familiar entrepreneurial rhythm: meetings, pitches, strategy sessions, and the relentless push to turn ideas into sustainable companies.
After settling in Modi’in, I transitioned into marketing and began consulting for growth-stage companies. At the time, I believed I understood what contributing to Israel meant - building businesses, advising teams, and applying my experience to help companies grow.
What I didn’t yet realize was how much that definition was about to change.
October 7th Changed Everything
My neighbors were called to reserves. Their wives became single parents overnight. Their businesses sat empty. Two days after the attack, I was supposed to start a new job. That job got put on hold.
I started small. Raising money from friends and family for food platters for neighbors whose husbands were deployed. Word spread. Requests multiplied. I hired struggling local vendors to cook for troops. I brought entertainers from Sderot to hotels full of evacuees. I organized 80 carnivals for displaced families.
Within months, Smiles for the Kids had supported 40,000 soldiers and 15,000 families. But I kept feeling like I was watching from the outside.
So I Enlisted
At 44, I joined the IDF through Shalav Bet, a program originally designed for immigrants who arrived past draft age. The program has expanded since October 7th to include all post-draft-age immigrants and chareidim who had not previously served.
My unit at Alog 99 included men from backgrounds where military service had traditionally been discouraged. Fathers with young children. Business owners who walked away from everything. Men over 50 who kept calling until the army said yes.
I completed basic training alongside them. I served over 75 days. I deployed to Gaza with logistics units. And somewhere along the way, I stopped being an observer and became part of the story.
