Aug 03 2024 85 mins
Noy Leyb was born and raised in Canada, and at 18 moved to Israel to join the IDF. Since then, he has been an activist fighting against antisemitism. On October 7th, Noy was living in New York, where he was the COO and co-founder of a Tech-stars backed company. Noy left his company behind him, and boarded the first flight to Israel to join his unit in the war against Hamas. His commitment to Israel extends beyond the battlefield - Noy is a social media advocate (Instagram), and has amassed tens of thousands of followers, and millions of views.
Following his release from Gaza this past January, instead of taking a vacation (like I did), Noy traveled to different communities in the US and Canada to share his unique perspective. He has spoken to thousands of people, ranging from 5th graders to seniors, both Jewish and non-Jewish. In May, Noy flew back to Israel, this time to the Northern border, where he was stationed when we recorded this podcast.
We discussed what it was like growing up as a Canadian with Israeli parents, and his journey from feeling more Canadian to (now) more Israeli. We spoke about drafting, tryouts, and the challenges of military service, both mental and physical.
When Noy got out of the service, he moved to Australia with his brother, and sold Dead Sea products. On this episode, he dispelled several rumors about that line of work which you'll have to listen to uncover. Noy and I discussed our experiences with Antisemitism in NY and around the world following our deployment to Gaza.
We also spoke about our experiences fighting Hamas in the Beit Hanoun neighborhood of the Gaza Strip (we entered Gaza on the same day, and spent 6 weeks 100 meters away from each other, though we never saw each other). We discussed PTSD among soldiers who have fought in this war, and what is being done to address it. We closed with a discussion of the most common mistruths that Noy hears Israel accused of, and how to refute them.