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Shiri Klayman ’17

Posted on May 24, 2024

Hello everyone, my name is Shiri Klayman, and I am from the 2017 Bronfman cohort. I live in Tel Aviv, and I am studying baking as a hobby. I plan to begin studying medicine next year.

On October 7th, I was in the middle of my post-army travels in the East. It did not take me very long to realize that I needed to return to Israel quickly. As soon as I got back to Israel, I was enlisted to my reserve unit as a military combat paramedic.

My reserve service was very challenging emotionally. I saw my paramedic friends saving lives almost daily, and then I saw that some of them were having difficulty returning to normal life outside of the war.

In my regular military service, I was a commander for a paramedic training course. During the war, one of my soldiers, Amir Tzur, may his memory be a blessing, was killed. When I arrived at the funeral, it was the first time since the beginning of the war that I met with other military paramedics, and together we were able to freely express our emotions and break down. I realized that only in this circle, among other paramedics, did I feel that they understood me and what I was going through.

All of these experiences led me, together with four other military paramedics, to establish a non-profit, אהיה תמיד (translation: “I Will Be There Always”) in order to provide emotional support for military paramedics both during their service and afterwards.

Our initiative gained momentum surprisingly quickly, and we have already managed to create a large community network and to send over 100 paramedics on different programs to process what they have been through. Now we are beginning a fundraising campaign, and I am full of hope that we will continue our work and raise funds for even more colleagues who provided care in the field of battle and are now having difficulty returning to their normal lives.

As I am writing these words, I am on my second round of reserve service in Gaza. The routine here is not easy at all, but my sense of responsibility and meaning keep me going through it all. Being enlisted has been much more difficult for me this time around, but the thing that gives me strength to continue and to serve and to leave my personal life behind me, is always the moment of crossing the border from Israel into Gaza. The road that takes us from Israel to Gaza goes by Kibbutz Beeri. I look at the burnt houses and the unfathomable destruction on the kibbutz and in one moment I remember why I am here, why we are doing what we do, and what I am fighting for.

I am full of hope for better days. If anyone would like to hear more about my project and how you can support us, please be in touch with the Bronfman office and they’ll give you my number