Freedom’s Friends: A Marine Veteran, Israel’s Soldiers, and the Cost of Defense

Steven Mizel speaks with I.D.F's Nahal Infantry troops headed towards Gaza, May 2024

Few men leave the U.S. Marines without retaining the Corps inside them for life. Octogenarian Steven Mizel still does. Though long out of US uniform, he still moves with a soldier’s sense of duty—this time to America’s closest ally, Israel, a nation resisting the same Islamo-Marxist revolution that seeks to unmake the West from within. Where the front lines shift, the moral fight is the same: to preserve western civilization.

At November’s Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Summit, Mizel stood before American patriots and Jewish activists, his foundation honoring wounded IDF reservist Itay Sagy with the Defender of Freedom and Security Award. “To the soldiers wounded in this war—those to whom so much is owed,” Mizel said, introducing a young man who turned near-death into testimony. The Marine’s salute to the Israeli fighter framed the day’s theme: courage, duty, and the shared defense of liberty itself.

Setting the Stage: Steven Mizel’s Introduction

Presenter Steven Mizel framed the award as a tribute to the wounded “to whom so much is owed,” then introduced Sagy — a reservist in the elite Sayeret Maglan unit — and summarized the ambush that would change his life.

• 0:13 – 0:49 — “on the soldiers wounded in this war… to whom so much is owed.” (STOP at 0:49)
• 0:50 – 1:04 — Sagy’s Sayeret Maglan service & mission profile (STOP at 1:04)
• 1:05 – 1:44 — Ambush near a shelter; “gunfire from all directions.” (STOP at 1:44)

“I Choose Life”: Itay Sagy’s Account

Sagy opens with disarming warmth — “I can’t be scared in a room full of people that cherish and love me” — before recounting the sprint south after October 7, five days of combat, and a point-blank fight with terrorists “who fought from hate,” while his unit fought “out of love for Israel… and for each other.”

“I feel something loving me… I see my future… a big house in the north full of kids… And I choose life.”

Gravely wounded by a grenade — neck torn open, right side unresponsive — Sagy recalls a teammate shielding him with his own body. Shattered by the loss of brothers-in-arms, he struggled with failure until a comrade reminded him that his actions saved nine others. From then on, he resolved to “be a hose and not a bottle” — to pour goodness forward and help others heal.

• 0:08 – 0:29 — “I’m excited… I can’t be scared in a room full of people that cherish and love me.” (STOP at 0:29)
• 1:03 – 1:19 — “we fight out of love for Israel… and for each other” (STOP at 1:19)
• 3:42 – 4:00 — Close-quarters engagement; neutralizing attacker (STOP at 4:00)
• 6:01 – 7:18 — “I choose life” (near-death calm → resolve) (STOP at 7:18)
• 10:13 – 10:21 — Teammate: “You saved nine other lives.” (STOP at 10:21)
• 11:02 – 11:10 — “Be a hose and not a bottle.” (STOP at 11:10)

Ethics vs. Hatred: Sagy on Hamas, the IDF, and the Media

In a post-event interview, Sagy contrasts Hamas’s hatred with the IDF’s ethic of restraint — including cancelling missions if civilians are in the perimeter. “War is terrible… mistakes happen,” he concedes, but the standard is protecting innocents. He’s frank about skewed coverage abroad, yet prefers “educate” over “advocate,” trusting reasonable people to respond to facts plainly told.

• 0:13 – 0:31 — On avoiding press & distorted coverage abroad (STOP at 0:31)
• 1:13 – 1:33 — “They fought us because they hate us; we fight because we love Israel.” (STOP at 1:33)
• 2:11 – 3:03 — Cancelling operations to avoid harming civilians; “This is the standard.” (STOP at 3:03)
• 4:29 – 6:04 — From fighting to educating; tell the truth plainly (STOP at 6:04)

Leadership and Resolve: Steven Mizel on the Free World

In a candid conversation at last year's Summit, Steven Mizel laments a world “in disarray,” and an America that no longer leads with confidence — contrasting the present with periods when U.S. resolve was unmistakable. The implications, he argues, touch every American; hyper-focus on Israel can distract from the wider threat network backed by Iran.

• 0:52 – 1:12 — “America used to be the leader of the Free World… that’s what needs to be done again.” (STOP at 1:12)
• 1:26 – 1:52 — On hyper-focus on Israel while ignoring Iran-backed jihadist threats (STOP at 1:52)

Veterans Day Reflection: Shared Courage, Shared Duty

The bond between American and Israeli veterans is more than alliance; it is kinship formed in the hard school of duty. Listening to Sagy choosing life in the midst of death, and to Mizel insisting on moral clarity in a murky world, we’re reminded: the defense of freedom isn’t abstract. It is personal, sacrificial, and — when rightly led — deeply humane.

This Veterans Day, we honor those who stand watch for all of us — who hold their fire when a civilian might be in the way, who run toward danger to pull friends from it, and who, when the shooting stops, teach the truth patiently. May their courage steady our resolve; may their example guide our words and our vote.

Gen. Richard Clark, left, U.S. Air Force 3rd Air Force commander, and Israel Defense Force (IDF) Commander of the Aerial Defense Array, Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich, shake hands during the combined missile defense exercise Juniper Cobra 2018 in Israel.