An Upper East Side man has reported for duty in Israel after being called up for service by the IDF in the war against Hamas.
When 32-year-old Staff Sgt. Noy Leyb first heard about the attacks on Saturday, he immediately booked a flight in.
“I wasn’t called before I booked my ticket, but as things escalated, my friends started to go back to the army so I know I was going to get called,” Leyb told ABC News.
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Staff Sgt. Leyb was right, as he was soon called up to join the 300,000 Israeli reservists around the world who have been mobilized (while others, like a man we featured on ilovetheupperwestside.com, are volunteering to fight despite having exemptions).
“Soldiers aged 21 to 67 all in this green uniform, mentally, physically, preparing for what is going to happen.” Leyb told ABC.
Leyb, who completed his military training as a paratrooper in 2010, had been in Israel just last week for the birth of his nephew.
When he returned, he found time to see his family again, for a much more solemn purpose, a moment magnified by the fact that his two brothers were now serving as well.
“Arrived Sunday night, took the train up north to where my family lives, gave my grandpa a kiss, mom and dad a kiss, grabbed my gear and first thing the next morning I was back on base with my other fellow reservists,” he told ABC. “My parents have three boys in the army now, three boys and they’re all in the army serving, so for them to say bye to two and here’s another one.”
Now he and both of his brothers have checked in and been deployed, each in a separate location around the country.
Upon completing his training in 2010, Staff Sgt. Leyb’s commander called him an outstanding soldier. It’s clear that that hasn’t changed. He has already begun organizing a chat group for Israelis around the world. The group connects soldiers with owners of private planes and other modes of transport to help them more easily report for duty. It already has over 600 members.
Staff Sgt. Leyb calls joining the IDF the best decision he has ever made.
“It’s going to be a long war unfortunately, we know it,” Leyb told ABC. “Hamas has continued to surprise us with their inhumane savage actions. And we’re here to take care of it.”
