An excellent jobnik

February 10, 2010 - 7:20 PM by

Natan at his desk

It’s niece/nephew month. Last one, I promise…

So, Natan, my 19-year-old nephew, who made aliyah with his family just three and a half years ago when he was 16, and entered the army last year, was nominated to receive the Presidential Excellence Award, the highest honor you can receive in the IDF.

Natan is a ‘jobnik’ in army parlance, which means he has a desk job. In his case, he works out of a large army base near Tel Aviv, where he does several things, including troubleshoot computer issues and teach English. He fell in with a great commanding Druze officer and a good crew of fellow soldiers, and despite worries at the start that the army would be a huge adjustment for this NYC-born and bred boy, he’s done just fine. His commanding officer and fellow soldiers sometimes don’t know what to make of Natan, who’s into musical theater, choral music and making bizarre flavors of ice cream, among other things, but it’s a testament to him and his mostly easygoing character that they all get along really well, and even came to see him perform Shakespeare.

Anyway, I wasn’t really surprised that Natan was nominated for the award, which includes getting pinned by President Shimon Peres in a public ceremony. He already knows that he’s not receiving the award, but will be receiving a lower level excellence award with a less public ceremony, and, a new uniform, which he’s pleased about. But what he talked about most, besides the intense interview that he underwent at a Herzliya hotel, was the food at the hotel, which was “out of this world,” compared to his now lowered army food standards. Hey, there are benefits to lower level excellence.

Tags: , , , , • Category: coexistence, General, History and Culture, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

6 Comments on An excellent jobnik

  1. Michael P. on Wed, Feb 10th 2010 7:42 PM

    2. I just showed this to our son. He is in 7th grade and I am hoping that we’ll return to Israel in a year or two. Despite living in Israel until he was five years old, our son is pretty American and his serving in the Army is always hanging over my head, since I have trouble picturing him fitting in.

  2. Jessica on Thu, Feb 11th 2010 9:52 AM

    3. Pit, is that you? Would be great if you get back here, and when you do, we’ll have the boys meet. Natan is far from the first kid to do this, and we really learned that the army can be flexible in certain ways, in terms of meeting peoples’ needs.

  3. Lisa K on Thu, Feb 11th 2010 3:54 PM

    4. Three cheers for Natan, our favorite jobnik, Shakespearean and ice cream maker!

  4. Barbara Klestzick on Thu, Feb 11th 2010 4:11 PM

    5. Hey Natan, That’s great!! Yasher Koach!

  5. Michael P. on Thu, Feb 11th 2010 8:33 PM

    6. Jessica,

    I don’t know why I couldn’t figure out that you wrote the article. I’ll send you a note on FB.

  6. ina on Fri, Feb 12th 2010 4:00 AM

    7. I can’t believe this is you, Natan you make me lok so old my gosh. Congradulation. look amazing, very handsome.
    Hope see you in brooklyn, when you visit.
    xoxo
    ina

Leave a Comment





© 2012 ISRAELITY | Site by illuminea | Sitemap