Heroics and Haredim

When the army inspires

Yesterday’s amazing extraction of a US crewman from Iran involved the IDF’s Shaldag unit. Contrary to some reports, it seems that the Shaldag soldiers were not physically involved, but the unit apparently contributed with intel and advice. That’s because the Shaldag unit specializes in performing complex operations deep in hostile territory.

Why is it called Shaldag? Shaldag is Hebrew for kingfisher, a bird that dives down with incredible speed to extract fish from under the water - the opposite of a bird’s natural home environment. As such, it is a perfect symbol for this unit.

Now, at the Biblical Museum of Natural History, I recently designed and put up a sign showing how the animal symbolism of Tanach and Jewish history has been revived in the modern State of Israel in all kinds of ways. And one of our guides told me an extraordinary story which happened with a visiting charedi school. It’s not a story that I can put in the public domain, for various reasons, so it’s restricted for paid subscribers, and I ask that it not be spread further.