Rambam Mesivta commemorates Veterans Day

Rambam Mesivta students and faculty honored military service people during the Lawrence School’s annual Veterans Day assembly that had retired Army paratrooper Candido Elejalba, a 67-year-old Bronx resident, as the keynote speaker on Tuesday.
Every year, Rambam pays tribute to armed forces members serving overseas that liberated concentration camps or served in Korea, Vietnam or Afghanistan.
In addition to honoring the veterans, the school also adopts an armed services unit. This year Rambam adopted Elejalba’s son Jonathan’s National Reserve army unit currently stationed in the Bronx. The unit is expected to be sent overseas in the near future.
“We set aside Veterans Day every year to honor the people who make it possible for everyone to live as free Americans,” said Rabbi Yotav Eliach, the school’s principal. “Freedom is not free. There is a price for freedom in Israel. Sadly, less and less Americans realize that.”
Elejalba became acquainted with the school through three students who served in a program known as Sar-El. He was taking classes at Touro College when he saw a flyer about the program, then applied to work in Israel with the Israeli Defense Forces through Sar-El.

“The war that the IDF is fighting against terrorists is my war, too,” he said. “Even though I’m retired, I will fight for Israel if that’s the case. We are at war with different groups, like ISIS and Hezbollah. They all have the same goals but they will not prevail.”
In January, Elejalba met the Rambam students, Dovid Rosenzweig, Zachary Beer, and Shmuel Halbfinger, all 17-year-old seniors, along with a fourth student, Yitzie Milworn, who graduated with the class of 2014, all worked in Tel Aviv. They assisted in preparing bags and equipment for the soldiers, wore fatigues, and even got to practice shooting guns during the two-week program they paid for on their own.
The boys greatly appreciated Elejalba’s mentorship. “We are just 17-year-old boys from Nassau County,” Halbfinger said. “When you have someone like Candido helping you out, it makes it easier for you to do the work and learn a lot. It was the best experience.”
Beer recalls meeting Elejalba upon arriving in Israel. “When we got to base, we met Candido and so many great people there,” he said. “It was an amazing time.”
“These kids have great parent, principals and teachers here,” Elejalba said. “These kids are very respectful. To see young kids involved in serving is emotional for me, and gives me great pride.”