Zionism :

Thousands of lone soldiers volunteer each year to serve in the IDF to protect us - let’s help protect them.

Giving

500 discharged lone soldiers volunteer as Big Brothers and Sisters for other lone soldiers – let’s help support them. ‏

Family

Become family for the lone soldiers at a time when they need it most.‏

The Big Brother Organization for Lone Soldiers

Ach Gadol is not about what we are but about who we are.
Over 14 years ago, we started a unique social initiative that aimed to provide support and guidance for young individuals trying to integrate into Israeli society on their own. We created a safe haven for this unique community and called it Ach Gadol.

An Ach Gadol – or Big Brother/Sister – is a volunteer who was once a lone soldier within their military service. Volunteers can reflect on personal experiences to provide each lone soldier with resilience, cultural competence, accessible information on how to exercise rights and most importantly, emotional support.

We embarked on this journey with 15 volunteers. Today we are going strong with over 500 volunteers. We provide ongoing support for over 1500 lone soldiers year round, and we prepare about 500 young individuals ahead of their military service each year.

Ach Gadol is the only lone soldier organization that utilizes a one-to-one mentorship structure, such that each individual soldier receives the undivided attention of their older brother or sister

The Organization’s Activity in Numbers

Hours of Volunteer Work

Lone Soldiers

Volunteers

Countries of Origin

Years of Activity

President’s Award

What is a Big Brother?

They talk about it better than us

“An Ach Gadol is someone to look up to, someone to talk to if you need help or advice, someone who was in the same situation as you just recently. He helps me with all my problems and takes care of everything I need, whether it’s Shabbat dinner or Sukkot or military advice, I know he’s someone who will want to help me at any time. I am very happy to have joined the Ach Gadol community.”
Jackie And Elinoam

“Ach Gadol for me is a support system. Someone who is there to help me personally, someone to turn to when I need it. Whenever I felt like I needed someone or something, my Achot Gdola was there to help me with anything I needed, no matter what.”

Michaela and Faigy

“Elisha always helps me with everything, explains everything to me, encourages me, comes to my ceremonies, and so much more. I feel like he is part of my family already, like a real brother.”
Nikita and Elisha

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More about lone soldiers

There are currently 6,400 soldiers serving in the IDF who hold the status of a lone soldier. This population is split into two segments both lacking immediate familial ties: immigrants and native-born soldiers. Both types of soldiers eventually encounter differences in culture, education, economic status, and above all, face a lack of support from a nuclear family unit.

This sense of loneliness and the daily struggle to survive, can weaken a soldier’s resilience and divert their attention from their military missions. Young individuals that lack a strong support system can easily deteriorate into a negative lifestyle that leads many soldiers to end their military service prematurely or return to their country of origin.

The IDF and the United for Israel’s Soldiers Association (UFIS) actively support soldiers in terms of welfare, financial benefits, housing arrangements and additional benefits such as funding flights to visit parents in their country of origin. Soldiers are also provided with rights to
take days off to run errands, spend time with visiting parents and more. The Big Brother Association has been working alongside the IDF and UFIS as the only organization that provides each soldier with personal accompaniment and 1:1 guidance.

Partners

What's New: Updates and Media Mentions

No Lone Soldier Left Behind

10.06.2025 No Comments

Support, connection, and celebrations for lone soldiers. Shabbat Activities, holidays, seminars. Donate, volunteer, join the family that cares for every lone soldier.

Already 17,000 circles in support of lone soldiers

Watch Tamara and Talia share what it means to be a lone female soldier — and what happens when a “Big Sister” is there by your side.
All of this is possible thanks to 17,000 good circles of support, just like yours.

Celebrating bar and bat mitzvahs together for lone soldiers

In the presence of the Minister of Aliyah and Integration, we closed a moving circle together with 100 soldiers from the Nativ program and dear partners, as we came to celebrate the Bar and Bat Mitzvah of 13 incredible lone soldiers.
Many lone soldiers undergo the process of conversion during their military service, and we are here to accompany them through every step — both the big and small moments of this journey.
And when they complete this complex path – they deserve for us to celebrate with them, to surround them with a warm and loving Israeli embrace.

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עמוד הבית – English