Within minutes of the brothers’ arrival to their new home in Northern Israel, their village was hit by missiles.

Two days later, another attack resulted in the death of a member of their village.

According to Schaefer, the violence prompted an outpouring of support from both the left and right, and both Arabs and Jews.

“It was a really profound and powerful way to be welcomed into the state of Israel,” he says.

Soon after, the brothers enlisted in the Israeli army as lone soldiers—foreign volunteers with no immediate family in Israel.

SPLITTING IN THE ARMY

Since their birth on June 11, 1988, the twins had been inseparable. “He was my other half,” Schaefer says. “I don’t think that words can articulate what the connection of identical twins is.”

However, the Israeli army—which requires all citizens to serve—has a policy of separating twins.

For the first time in their lives, Schaefer and his brother lived apart, serving in two separate combat brigades. Schaefer joined a reconnaissance unit while Avi served in a Special Forces anti-tank unit.

Schaefer says he never imagined he would join the military when he was younger.

“I was never allowed to have a [toy] gun,” Schaefer says. “I was a naïve, skinny Jewish kid from Southern California who found himself in a really serious military.”

Schaefer says his time in the army was marked by a deep internal struggle.

“I constantly felt tension between my love for Israel...and sympathizing with the reality of Palestinians,” he says.

During his time in combat, Schaefer was stationed on Israel’s border with Lebanon and in the West Bank. After two and half years of service, he suffered a serious knee injury during a mission and was released from combat.

After recovering from his injury in California, Schaefer made his way back to Israel to serve as a counselor for American Jewish kids in Israel while Avi continued to serve.