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July 21, 2014 8:05 pm
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Four Israeli Brothers Called Up to Serve in Gaza, on Syrian Border

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avatar by Dave Bender

Four Israeli brothers in Operation Protective Edge Photo: Cana'an family

Four Israeli brothers in Operation Protective Edge. Photo: Cana'an family

Talk about a real live “Band of Brothers.” In recent days, four Israeli brothers were part of a massive emergency “Tzav-8” Israeli Defense Forces call up as part of Operation Protective Edge.

Three members of the Cana’an family are currently on duty on Israel’s southern border within Gaza, and the fourth is serving at the far end of the country, facing the carnage across the border in Syria.

“We inculcated our kids with values of patriotism and giving back to the country,” their mother, Zahava told Israel’s Channel 2 News on Monday.

Zahava, a resident of the close-knit community of Maccabim-Reut, near Modi’in, admitted that she has a hard time sleeping – to put it mildly – due to the stressful situation:

Ben, 29, and a father to a month-old daughter, was called up to serve in an anti-aircraft unit facing Syria; Tzach (Yitzhak), 24, was called up to serve with his Givati infantry unit in the south; Ran, 24, is an officer in the paratroopers, and Gal, 20, is in the Golani Mountain Brigade. Gal was attending an instructors course, and was diverted to assist Ran’s platoon in Gaza, according to the report.

“Truth is, I live with a sense of uncertainty,” she said. “Friends call; family members all want to know if everything’s OK, and it only ratchets up the tension. It’s really hard, and not a simple thing to live with.”

She explains that their dad was an officer in the paratroopers, and fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. “I believe in the IDF, and that their commanders will return them all safely home,” she said.

“But the heart has it’s own fears, and is unrelenting,” she added.

There’s no doubt that the circumstances worry the sons, too.

“It’s a rare coincidence, that all of us were called up,” Ben said, noting that, “It’s not easy for me as the oldest brother, who raised all of the others from diapers to graduation.

“I have a lot of responsibility,” he added.

“If I wasn’t married and a father to a month-old child, I’d have joined them in Gaza – but my wife cast the ‘veto’, and with good reason,” he said.

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