Gar then told his own story. He grew up in South Africa and immigrated to Israel on his own. He says he spent five years in a religious youth movement in Australia, married an Israeli immigrant from Canada and fathered four children.
Gar is good with imagery. As a reservist with a counterterrorism unit, he always has two weapons with him. "It looks a bit odd," he says, but he pushes his young twins in a stroller to synagogue with an M16 strapped to his back.
In addition to his counterterrorism service and teaching at Caliber3, Gar told the group that he is studying to become a rabbi and runs a Torah program for Jewish youth with special needs, like Down Syndrome and autism.
His storytelling has a purpose: humanize the image of Israeli soldiers.
"I wanted to tell you this because I want you to see what we're all about. I'm a family man. I see myself as an educator."
About his military work: "We do this because we love, we don't do this because we love killing."
Gar asks the American visitors to "help fight terrorism" by speaking up against negative views of Israeli soldiers they might see or hear back home. To seal the deal, there's one more story. Gar describes how five members of a Jewish family — a husband, wife and three of their children — were killed two years ago in their home in the West Bank settlement of Itamar. He says he was part of the team that took two Palestinian suspects back to the family's house to re-enact the murders, using toy knives and dolls.
"They had smiles on their faces as they went from room to room slaughtering a family," Gar said. "Once they left, they heard a baby crying. They responded. One terrorist held the baby while the other took a knife and slit her throat."
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