Three Bnei David alumni will be joining the ranks of Israel's Air Force when they receive their wings along with 40 other future fighter pilots during the IDF pilot course ceremony at the ceremonial plaza of Hatzerim Air Force Base. Twenty percent of the graduates attended pre-military religious academies around the country.
K., a Bnei David Eli graduate, completed the prestigious course and will be joining over 30 Bnei David Eli pilots. A. and T. are Bnei David Ma'ale Ephraim branch graduates who shared a room in the academy and went on to finish the IDF pilot course together.
Lt. A., 23-year-old who graduated the course as a fighter pilot, grew up in Gush Etzion and studied one year in the Ma'ale Ephraim Bnei David academy. Before that, he had volunteered for one year as a tour guide at the Kfar Etzion field school.
A.'s wife Cheli is a surf guide for girls and horseback riding therapist. Cheli and Lt. A. met through her cousin, who studied with A. in the pre-military academy in Ma'ale Ephraim. They met one year into the course, got engaged a few months later and were married a few months prior to the end of the course, in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
"We planned a big event, but faced with the restrictions the virus presented, we realized we'd have to change our plans," Lt. A. said. "A week before our intended wedding date, we were notified that large wedding ceremonies would be banned. All along we said we'd go through with it no matter what, and so we decided to hold the wedding a week ahead of time, with as many guests as allowed by Health Ministry instructions. Our close family stood with us and our guests stood on the porches surrounding us or 'joined' the ceremony via Zoom. We decided to make the most of the occasion."
His wife, Cheli, added, "If you believe in the importance of something, you will find the way to do it right. I do not regret how our wedding turned out. Though it was a small moment in time, it was of the utmost importance to us."