Baltimore County Man Critically Injured After Joining Israeli Army
BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A young man from Baltimore County became a sharpshooter in the Israeli army after graduating from high school. When he was nearly killed in combat, he came home to Maryland to heal.
Denise Koch spoke with him about his passion to protect his homeland.
War in the Middle East has hit very close to home. Last July, a deadly battle between Israelis and Palestinians over the Gaza Strip turned into a nightmare for a Baltimore County father.
"I got a call, 5 in the morning, and I got on a plane the next day," said Jeffrey Low.
Low learned that his 19-year-old son Jordan, who is an Israeli soldier, was critically injured fighting a war half a world away.
A rocket hit a building with Jordan Low's unit inside. The explosion was so close, Low was overcome by smoke.
"He stopped, dropped his weapon and threw up pure black," Jeffrey Low said.
He was rushed to the hospital, suffering from severe smoke inhalation. He told WJZ he feared for his life.
"I inhaled a lot of smoke from the rockets and I was hospitalized for about five weeks," he said. "I couldn't breathe and I didn't think I was going to make it."
Like Jordan Low, about 1,000 Americans born and raised here are now serving in Israel's army.
Another Baltimore County native, Risa Kelemer, served in a combat unit similar to Jordan's.
"If this country needs it, I will give my life and everything I have," she said in 2012. "But I'm hoping that I'll be able to go home and have my family at the end of the day."
For Kelemer, Low and many other Jewish-Americans, the pull to serve in the Israeli army begins with faith and a desire to defend their homeland.
"This is my home, but Israel is also my home," Low said. "I wanted to do something more with my life. Not take the normal track. I wanted to help people and it to have some meaning."
He made a full recovery but, with nearly a year left to serve in the Israeli army, he will have to go back to the very place he almost died.
"Putting yourself in harm's way for a good cause, it's worth it," he said.
Now Low is preparing to say goodbye to his family again. It's not easy for his father.
"I cry," he said.
Jordan Low is set to go back to Israel next month, where he'll work in military intelligence.
