It provides services to lone soldiers such as help finding housing, counseling and organized meals on Jewish holidays and the Jewish Sabbath. The center operates from branches in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin was created in 2009 by a group of people who had served as " lone soldiers" in the IDF. Ī memorial for Levin was erected at Ammunition Hill, Jerusalem, the site of a major battle during the Six-Day War of 1967. A local commander of Hezbollah guided Al Jazeera through Ayta ash Shab after the war and showed them the store where Levin was killed.
The IDF's wounded were treated at the spot under heavy fire, as an evacuation was deemed almost impossible. For several hours the Israeli soldiers fought and killed 15 Hezbollah fighters, according to IDF figures. Another 27 on the Israeli side were wounded. Levin was one of three IDF soldiers killed in Ayta ash Shab that day. After several hours reinforcements reached the building and extracted them.
A Hezbollah fighter managed to get close and fire straight into the small room, hitting Levin in the head. Levin's platoon hid in the back room of an empty store. The battalion's units got separated when running away. The IDF soldiers could not identify the source of the fire. The 890th Paratrooper Battalion came under heavy fire as they advanced into the town. Omer Yaniv, from Levin's paratrooper unit, gave a graphic description of the chaotic circumstances surrounding his death. Michael's maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors and had a great impact on his Jewish identity. Levin was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and attended Gratz College before moving to Israel shortly after he turned 18 years of age. A memorial to him was built in Jerusalem. His death had a major impact in Israel-thousands attended his funeral-and inspired the creation of a support organization for other IDF soldiers from abroad. Michael Levin (February 17, 1984, Holland, Pennsylvania, United States – August 1, 2006, Ayta ash Shab, Lebanon) was an American-Israeli soldier in the Paratroopers Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who was killed in action in the Second Lebanon War, during the first round of fighting in the Lebanese town of Ayta ash Shab. For persons of a similar name, see Michael Levin (disambiguation).