SAN ANTONIO – With his uniform sleeves rolled up, Ze’ev Bar Yadin is in Israel, thousands of miles away from his San Antonio home, ready to fight.
His dad, Reuben Bar Yadin, said he landed in Israel late Sunday evening.
“His spirits are high,” said Reuben Bar Yadin. “He’s very calm, is very, very focused.”
The 28-year-old previously served in the Israel Defense Forces for three years.
Reuben Bar Yadin said watching the horror unfold in his native Israel is personal for his family.
“They came to attack civilians,” he said. “They came to attack Israel.”
It’s why Reuben Bar Yadin said Ze’ev made the decision on Saturday to head to Israel.
“He had a very, very strong sense of duty that his place is there,” he said. “To do his part.”
Ze’ev’s mother and pregnant wife are having a tough time with his choice, said Reuben Bar Yadin -- but it’s a sacrifice he doesn’t take lightly.
“I am extremely proud of him,” said Reuben Bar Yadin, grinning. “I don’t know how else to describe it.”
That sense of duty is something he feels, too.
Reuben Bar Yadin said he’s heading to Israel in a couple of weeks for a trip he’d already planned.
“Somebody asked me, ‘aren’t you think about canceling?’” he said. “I said, ‘Hell no, Why would I cancel?’ And I feel a need to be there.”
Reuben Bar Yadin said his son is joined in Israel by another man from San Antonio, who also volunteered to fight.
“I think San Antonio is well-represented,” he said.