Odelia Bayer is the granddaughter of evangelical Christian German emigres to Israel who
came to serve Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.
Her father, Gideon, was raised helping his mom and dad at the skilled nursing home based in Ma’alot, and her mother, Nellie, came to serve at the skilled nursing home for a year after nursing school. Nellie and Gideon met and married, and they continued the grandparents’ mission.
Bayer, her siblings, her parents, and grandparents are all evangelicals. Her grandparents felt a great responsibility to the Jewish people after the Holocaust, especially in light of the way many Christians treated the Jews or ignored the horrors of their plight during the war.
“My grandparents were moved by the verse that says, ‘Comfort, comfort my people’ (Isaiah 40:1),” she said. “This verse speaks to the goyim (non-Jews) about their responsibility to comfort God’s people. They saw this as their mission for life from God.”
At age 18, Odelia began receiving letters from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) about serving, which is optional for non-citizen permanent residents of Israel, such as the Bayer family. Odelia did not hesitate to join. “I never questioned going into the army,” she said. “My sister and brothers and their friends all went.”
Odelia’s sister, Rachel, has also served in search and rescue, and her brothers, Zuriel and Urija, have served as commandos. Her brother, Eliav, just turned 18 and is also planning to serve.
The events of the Second Lebanon War (2006) confirmed her commitment to join.
“We live about seven and a half kilometers from the Lebanon border,” she said. “I remember sitting in a bunker, and all around us were the IDF soldiers. I had learned about World War II and what the Nazis did to the Jewish community, and I had grown up around Holocaust survivors, so I heard firsthand, but when there was a war in Israel, the soldiers did not care if we were from Germany. They were protecting me and would have given their lives for me.”
Odelia joined the IDF five years ago, joining a search and rescue battalion that goes into areas with destroyed buildings to save those trapped in the wreckage and recover the bodies of those who died. She became a captain after successfully completing officer training school. She had completed her service and was working as a civilian last fall. Then came October 7.
“I served with the same soldiers who were there when I was a company commander,” she explained, “but the mission was different.”
She and her battalion worked in the southern Israel communities, the kibbutzim near Gaza that were devastated by terror attacks. “We were working in burned houses, burned cars, around the festival, searching for remains—hair, DNA, blood, something to give the families answers.”
Odelia remembers meeting with a psychologist every night, debriefing and processing the horrors. She now realizes that she was the recipient of care from a very unassuming organization, the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF).
FIDF is the only authorized US partner of the IDF and supplies the non-combatant needs of Israel’s soldiers—PTSD therapy, bereavement support, medical supplies, personal clothing items, respite from the frontlines, couches and furniture for break rooms, among many other forms of support.
“These soldiers saw the conditions of the bodies after the attacks,” noted Steve Weil, FIDF CEO. “Odelia was looking at skin tissue and body parts. What she has been through has been horrific.”
Odelia recalled praying as she walked from house to house, asking God the why questions that would come from seeing such cruelty and brutality.
“I grew up in a family with faith,” she explained. “They love Jesus. They love God and understand the role of Israel in the whole story. I was not afraid to die and went into the kibbutzim confident of his protection. But I had a lot of questions. I always heard that from the Holocaust survivors. If God is there, why would this happen? I asked myself these questions, too.”
And then more questions followed in December last year when younger brother Urija received what would become a fatal head wound. Despite the doctors’ extraordinary efforts to save him, Urija died on December 17.
“The IDF held shiva for us for seven days, which is a Jewish time of mourning,” Odelia said. “Thousands of people came to let my parents and all of us know how sorry they were and to express their profound thanks for Urija’s service.”
After Urija’s death, FIDF reached out to the Bayers with financial and other assistance. They have also provided resources for a social worker who has visited Gideon and Nellie to help them process their grief. Eliav attended an FIDF camp in the US for teens who lost a sibling serving with the IDF.
“As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, this is a good time to remember the Jewish people,” Odelia shared. “Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, is under attack. Israel has a big role in our faith. Comfort my people, the Bible says, be there for my people. They are the people of God, and we as Christians have a responsibility to be there for them.”
To learn more about FIDF, visit BlessIsraelsSoldiers.org.
