Recovering drug addict, counselor reconnect at IDF
Moshe Ben Naftali started using drugs when he was 12 and already had 18 criminal records in his teens; released from prison to check into rehab clinic, he met Omer Meir, who went on to be his counselor. Now, the two met again unexpectedly when Ben Naftali found his former mentor was his commanding officer in the Nahal.
Private Ben Naftali, now 20, serves as a medic for a Nahal reconnaissance battalion. His early life, however, provided no indication he would make it this far.
Even before celebrating his bar mitzvah, Ben Naftali began using drugs and in his early teens he'd already amassed 18 criminal records, mostly for dealing drugs.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and—after serving just two months—was offered to undergo drug rehab at the Malkishua rehabilitation village as an alternative to staying incarcerated.
"It was a very difficult time on a personal level," Ben Naftali said. A year after Ben Naftali started his time at Malkishua, Meir arrived for his pre-army service year there. He became Ben Naftali's personal sponsor and the two struck up a fast friendship.
"It's somewhere between instructor and friend. I learned a lot from him. He's a very unique personality and it shows right away. He's a top notch guy with tons of ability," Meir said.
After more than a two-year stay at Malkishua, the two went their separate ways and lost contact. Following Meir's recommendation, Ben Naftali decided to study at a Jerusalem preparatory program.
Despite receiving an exemption from IDF service, Ben Naftali insisted on enlisting. He arrived at the Havat Hashomer army base for at-risk youth and was then chosen to participate in selection for the Nahal's reconnaissance battalion.
Concurrently, Meir—who was conscripted first—underwent a Nahal commanders' course. Then, on the first day of basic training, the two happened to meet.
"My platoon sergeant sent me to meet my commander. I opened the door and there was Omer. Moments later all of the soldiers were standing in two rows and I was laughing it up with the soldier standing in front of me. Suddenly Omer popped up and told me to shut up. That's when the penny dropped: he was my commanding officer," Ben Naftali recollected.
Omer was happy to meet his former protégé, but had some reservations about picking up where they left off. "There is the distance thing (army commanders distancing themselves from their subordinates to maintain authority—ed.), but he got where I was coming from in our very first conversation. If he was going to make trouble, he'd get hit, hard. When it came down to it, I had to prepare him to being a combat soldier," Meir said firmly.
Regimented army life had proven a tough adjustment for Ben Naftali. "Prison and rehab were very strict institutions, and now I found myself in the same situation. Omer's presence here helped a lot. There's something convenient about not having to explain yourself over and over again," he said.
Ben Naftali is expected to finish his Nahal training this month, and will hold a week of concluding drills with his commander before once again bidding him farewell. "Moshe taught me there are no crises in life you can't overcome," Ben Naftali's former sponsor concluded.
