I have to be honest: I did not expect to come home from Israel with a story like this.

Three of my AEPi brothers from Arizona State University and I joined a Hillel Birthright trip to Israel. We traveled alongside other ASU students and brothers from UC Berkeley’s ZBT chapter. It was an incredible group from the start, but what happened next was something none of us planned for…and something none of us will ever forget.

When we arrived in Israel, we met the soldiers assigned to our group: four young men, four young women, and our armed medic, a former IDF soldier who protected and guided us throughout the trip. They were our age, yet they had lived experiences that felt worlds apart from our own. They had never heard of Alpha Epsilon Pi.

Their lives had been shaped by service, sacrifice, and survival. College was something that came after military service. The future beyond that was uncertain. Their daily reality was defined by responsibilities and challenges that most of us in Tempe (AZ) –and most Americans, for that matter — can scarcely imagine.

And then we sat down together.

We shared meals. We exchanged stories. They told us about October 7th, Gaza, Lebanon, and the friends they had lost. They spoke about carrying burdens that no young person should have to bear. In return, we told them about ourselves. We told them about AEPi. About brotherhood. About the lifelong bond that connects us across campuses, generations, and continents.

As the conversations deepened, so did the connection.

At the time, I had recently served as our chapter’s Lieutenant Master. Our Rush Chair, Jacobo Weissenberg, was there. So were Jonas Blake and David Levinson, who now serve as our New Member Educators. Together, we represented enough voting strength in our chapter to bestow the highest honor we can offer.

Without hesitation and with complete unanimity, we voted to bid all five young men into Alpha Epsilon Pi. (I am intentionally leaving their names out of this message because they are still serving.)

While many of us are planning social events, preparing for formals, and worrying about exams, these men are putting on uniforms and standing watch over the Jewish homeland. When I think about that reality, I struggle to find the right words. What I feel is gratitude. Humility. Awe.

Most of all, I feel the weight of understanding that Jewish freedom is not free. It is defended every day by young men and women who are the same age as the brothers reading this message right now.

There is another part of this story that makes me proud. Several of these new brothers hope to attend college in Israel when their service is complete. We have already helped them identify AEPi chapters where they can continue their journey in this brotherhood. And, before we parted ways, we made sure each of them received an ASU AEPi shirt of their own.

For the sake of transparency, there did not seem to be much interest in the other fraternity represented on the trip. We appreciate a healthy rivalry; but let the record show that we are the International Jewish Fraternity. We’re also – unsurprisingly – the only fraternity in the world with chapters in Israel.

These men may never experience a traditional new member process. Life, military service, and the future may take them in directions none of us can predict. But that is not what matters most.

What matters is that now, for the first time, AEPi is part of their story.

And they are forever part of ours.

Am Yisrael Chai and G-d Bless America.

(Editor’s Note: Do you have something to say or a story to tell? Submit your own Voices piece for consideration to [email protected] and we’d be happy to work with you and publish your story!)