Jake Goldstein, 33-34, is a Canadian who was born in Toronto but grew up in Ottawa. Goldstein attended Ottawa Modern Jewish School, an elementary school.
In August 2014, Goldstein was featured in The Canadian Jewish News (CJN), the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin (OJB) and the Chayel el Chayal Torah Cafe video channel.
The CJN article starts by stating: “A few years ago, Jake Goldstein was fighting for Israel on the campus of the University of Ottawa, marshalling talking points to arm supporters facing a constant barrage of anti-Israel agitation. Last month, his fight for Israel was much more hands-on. Not content to push papers and arrange speakers as part of the campus’ Israel Awareness Committee, Goldstein enlisted in the Israeli army nearly two years ago.”
The article described Goldstein’s experience in the military in depth: “During Operation Protective Edge he served in the 202nd Paratroop Brigade. His unit was tasked with taking out the ‘terrorist tunnels’ in central Gaza from which Hamas operatives aimed to attack Israeli communities, kill civilians and take hostages. Armed with a M4 assault rifle, Goldstein, 23, was often one of the first men into suspected terrorist hideouts. His unit saw plenty of action and they paid the price. ‘We sustained injuries,’ he said. ‘There were firefights everywhere in Gaza. They were waiting for us.’ ‘There were a couple of times when it was very busy,’ he said. Once his unit took over ‘a Hamas village… they’d pop out of the tunnel, fire at the house [where Israelis were stationed] and we’d fire back.’
Goldstein never saw civilians in the line of fire. They had been forewarned through leaflets and text messages to leave the combat area or face the consequences. ‘The only people we encountered were terrorists,’ he said. […] The unit found plenty of pamphlets and documents recruiting young men to Hamas. ‘We found literature for young adults that Hamas is cool, look at the guns you get to fight the occupation,’ he said. ‘They make it cool to join Hamas and fight Israel.’ Goldstein said the Israeli army encountered plenty of teenage Hamas fighters, although the guys he went up against were older. ‘I heard from friends in other units that they went against younger teenagers in Hamas units,’ he said.”
The article goes on to add: “Goldstein admits his parents, Richard and Lorena, weren’t too keen at first about his decision to enlist in the Israeli army. He had been planning to enter law school, and despite his Zionist upbringing and a memorable visit to Israel on a Birthright Israel trip when he was 18, they didn’t think he was serious when he first told them his plans. But he has no regrets, even if it meant that to get his wings he had to jump five times out of an airplane at 1,400 feet, despite being afraid of heights. ‘And to get my beret [as a paratrooper], we walked more than 300 kilometres in 13 days with 100-pound packs on our backs,’ he said. Goldstein believes his decision to enlist ‘will help me in my career path. I know there’s nothing I can do now that was as hard as what i did in Israel,’ he said.”
The OJB article features a photo of Goldstein with another lone soldier included in this database, Tobin Kaiman, and states: “Both Jake and Tobin are graduates of the Ottawa Modern Jewish School (OMJS), which adopted them as OMJS’ lone soldiers. OMJS students have written letters and sent Misloach Manot to them during their service.”
The Chayal el Chayal video, meanwhile, features Goldstein on “the front lines” after having just returned to Israel from Gaza. He discusses his experience on the ground.
