Like most young men his age, 20-year-old Eliran Oster serves in the IDF. Unlike his peers, however, Oster does everything with just one hand.
He was exempt from service due to his disability, but chose to volunteer. He serves teaching new recruits, and is uniquely able to motivate them and show them how much is possible if they try.
Oster is even able to play basketball. “I aim with my left hand, give a push and throw, soldiers are often surprised when they see me,” he said.
The issue of disability was put on the public agenda with the recent injury of IDF Captain Ziv Shilon, who lost one arm and suffered serious wounds to the other in a bombing in Gaza. Speaking from his hospital bed this week, Shilon told reporters that he plans to return to the army if possible.
Oster’s message is that it is possible. “I am seriously thinking of going for officers’ training,” he related. “Even without a hand it’s possible to serve in the IDF, people with disabilities should enlist. Anything is possible.”