In honor of “Navy Week,” in which the IDF is honoring its sailors and other seagoing personnel, Arutz Sheva interviewed Anthony, a resident of Rehovot who made aliyah alone from Florida.
Anthony has always loved the sea, he said in the interview – so much so that he has joined a naval fighter's course, which will qualify him to be a member of Israel's ocean-going warriors.
Anthony was close with his grandfather, who was a sailor in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He also enjoyed films that depicted the ocean-going life, and the adventures of sailors and Marines during the war. A keen sailor, he says that it was clear that he was destined to serve in the Navy. But Anthony decided he wanted to live in Israel, and is now serving in the Israeli Navy.
When asked how he explains his decision to his American friends – including why he abandoned “sunny Florida” for Israel – Anthony says that Israel, too, has plenty of sun. In fact, he said, his friends have a great deal of respect for his decision.
Based on past experience, Antony may well be cut out for the life of a seafaring warrior.
“Once when I was six, my two year old brother went into the ocean and ended up near a shark,” he recounted.
“I saw what was happening and jumped into the water,” he said.
Taking with him a sharp knife, Antony tells of how he attacked the shark, successfully killing it, and saving his brother from a grisly fate.
Click here for the original Hebrew interview.