Shomer Yisrael CEO Lt. Col. Yossi Levi and Henry Orlinsky, founder of American Friends of Netzah Yehuda, joined The Jewish Link’s “Pitch Meeting” podcast to talk about Torah life, military service and national unity.
On a recent episode of “The Jewish Link Pitch Meeting” podcast, host and Jewish Link co-publisher Moshe Kinderlehrer sat down with two guests from our organization: Henry Orlinsky, founder of American Friends of Netzah Yehuda and treasurer of the organization’s executive board, and Yossi Levi, CEO and a lieutenant colonel (sgan aluf) in the Israel Defense Forces. The conversation focused on the intersection of Torah life, military service and national unity, and traced the origins of the battalion and the broader mission it serves.
The organization was founded in 1999 by Haredi rabbis in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense and the IDF, to provide a path for Haredi young men who did not fit into full-time yeshiva study. That effort led to the formation of the 97th Battalion, “Netzah Yehuda,” of the Kfir Brigade. Over time, additional non-combat tracks were added, allowing thousands of young men to serve meaningfully in the IDF while maintaining a Haredi lifestyle.
For Levi, the path was a personal calling. He grew up in a Haredi community in Jerusalem and studied in the Mir Yeshiva, but felt out of place. “My emunah was strong … I felt that I’m not learning Torah. I have too much energy to sit 12 hours a day,” he said on the podcast. He realized he “needed something different,” and that turned out to be Netzah Yehuda. As he put it simply, “Netzah was made for me.”
The full article by Rachel Abramchayev, published January 22, 2026, is available on The Jewish Link website.
Also published in: The Jewish Link
Illustrative image: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit photographer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0