JERUSALEM POST
by Yaakov Lappin
February 9, 2015

Corporal Michael Abonyi, a 21 year-old immigrant from New Mexico, recently completed a grueling advanced training course to become an IDF paratrooper. Yet unlike his fellow soldiers, for Abonyi, this will be the second time he completes a full military training program. Before dreaming of joining the IDF, Abonyi enrolled in the United States Marine Corps, where he served for two years. He then found that his heart yearned for Israel, leading him to carry out a dramatic about turn in his military career….Last winter, he took part in a Taglit trip to Israel for US military personnel, which brought soldiers from the US Army, Air Force and Navy to the country. It was during this visit, Abonyi said, that he realized “there is so much about this place that I love. I also realized that I couldn’t get to the bottom of everything going on here if I didn’t live here. I decided to come here. READ MORE