Just before Omer gets out of the car to board a bus that will take him from Afula to the Shizafon Armored Corps base where he serves, his father, Eran, asked him if he remembered to polish his boots. No, this isn't a scene from a film or a TV series – it's part of a series of short films in which Eran Schuster documents his life as the father of an IDF combat soldier in an attempt to reach out to other parents whose children are about to be drafted.
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A few months ago, the IDF launched a social media project called "A Brother Who Knows," in which men and women serving in combat role offered a peek at combat life in tanks, artillery, and infantry, to encourage enlistment in these branches of the ground forces.
Now the IDF has continued the initiative with a project called "A Parent Who Knows," in which parents share their lives as mothers and fathers of men and women in combat roles to help assuage the concern of other parents whose children are beginning their army service.
The parents participating in the project underwent special training in which they learned about social media and content creation. They initiate their own ideas about what to document, whether it's filming them taking a son to the train station or meeting a daughter who comes home on leave.
Galit Cohen, whose son, Re'em, serves in the Duchifat Battalion in the Kfir Brigade, says, "The desire to reach out to other parents and by doing so help them through a challenging time is very satisfying. I'm happy I have the ability to serve as an anchor for other parents, and as a group to influence and help every family we can."
Schuster, whose son is about to finish his basic tank training, said, "I wanted to be part of the team, given the personal challenge of a son enlisting in the IDF … I want to have an effect on other parents who are going through the same process I am."
The person behind both these ideas is head of campaigns in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Yuval Horowitz.
"This is the first initiative of its kind, and was built especially for parents of young people who are about to be drafted into combat roles," Horowitz explains.
"We concluded that it's not only the youth who need guidance before enlisting – their parents do, as well, since they don't always know how to help their children ahead of the draft. They also need tools, advice, and mentoring at every stage of the draft," he adds.
"Guidance not only on the big things, but also little tips about what to bring to the induction base, how to pack a bag, and mostly to help dispel their fears. The internet is full of information that isn't always correct or accurate, so it was important to us to be there not only for the kids, but also for their parents," he says.
According to Schuster, "It's a great privilege to be part of the team of 'IDF combat parents,' a team that tries to see military service from a parent's perspective. I feel it's really important to share, to interest, and to help parents whose children are about to be drafted understand in the most honest and direct way how to make it through the challenges they will be facing as parents of combat soldiers."
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