When the Sirens Sound: A Technion Student’s Second War
The sirens began blaring around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, February 28, 2026, the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran. D. was spending Shabbat with his wife and two children at his in-laws’ home. “The first thing I did was run upstairs to wake up my wife,” he recounted. “The second was to check my phone,” he said, as he recalled waiting for the call from his Reserve Combat Engineering Corps unit.
When the sun set on Shabbat, he left for his army base, putting aside his studies at the Technion, and wondering whether the war with Iran would be as intense as the recent Israel-Gaza war, in which he served for nearly 300 days. “Mostly, I was thinking about my family,” he said, “hoping they could keep some sense of routine.” Purim was just days ahead, and his young sons were excited to dress up as the bright, cheery characters from the Teletubbies.
With courage and pride, he was ready and resolute to serve again. “You’re called up, the adrenaline kicks in, and you just do it. It’s automatic,” he said. “When you do meaningful work that helps protect your country, neighbors, and family, it feels great.”
He honed his skills in the Gaza war, providing hazard mitigation as well as cleanup and recovery from the attacks on Israeli communities and kibbutzim near the Gaza border. Now, he helps in areas damaged by strikes from Iran and Hezbollah rockets. “I don’t need to ask what I can do because I know what I can do. It’s my time. I go, and I help. They need me now.”
After October 7, roughly 4,000 Technion students were called up for reserve duty — many, like D., serving 200 days or more. Some 1,000 were mobilized in the first weeks of the war with Iran. D. is finishing up a dual bachelor’s degree in engineering and science disciplines that are among the most difficult at the Technion, and also works at a demanding high-tech company. Despite juggling the disparate pieces of his life — “one day you’re sitting in class trying to understand an equation, the next you’re on the front lines seeing people who have lost their home and loved ones” — he ranked in the top 3% of his faculty’s student body. That earned him the highest excellence award given to students by the Technion.
The Technion, D. said, works hard to support reservists who have missed significant class time, providing makeup lessons, meetings, tutoring, financial aid, and flexible exam schedules. Still, “it’s hard to study for a test when you don’t know if it’ll be held a half year from now due to war delays,” he said.
During the Israel-Gaza war, D. served each day from sunrise to sunset, away from his family for weeks at a time. He hoped this time would be different. It was. He was assigned for “on call” service. “If something comes up” — which happens about twice a week — “they call,” he said. “It’s still tough, but I’m home more.”
“I’m proud to serve my country and to excel in my academics,” he said. Though it wouldn’t have been possible, he reflected, without his wife. “My wife has two kids at home, is running with them to the shelter in the middle of the night and keeps the family grounded. That’s something much harder than anything I will do in my service,” he said. A small sign of that normalcy: his wife and sons celebrated Purim as Teletubbies.
