Defending Israel: Levi’s Account of Bravery and Faith

Levi Simon is a dedicated and courageous young man who made a life-changing decision to move from England to Israel eight years ago, driven by a profound Zionist dream. At 28 years old, Levi has served in the Israeli Defense Forces, participating in special forces units and experiencing the realities of combat. He currently works as a tour guide in Jerusalem, where he passionately shares the rich history and spiritual significance of the land with visitors from around the world. Known for his resilience, deep faith, and ability to balance vulnerability with strength, Levi is committed to building a meaningful future in Israel, aspiring to contribute to the community through farming and creating a home grounded in tradition and purpose.

You can connect with Levi at https://www.instagram.com/tourisraelwithlevi?igsh=OWJtNm5oYmVqcG96 and www.levisimon.com

Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others.

Let’s stay in touch:

• Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologetics
• Email us at info@crossroadsapologetics.org
• Visit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.org

See you in the next episode! Be blessed!

Full Transcript

Intro:
Welcome to Courageous by Crossroads Apologetics, a look into what motivates us to step out in courage and the everyday bravery of men and women like you. In each episode, we hear a personal story of bravery centered around this. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? And now your host, founder of Crossroads Apologetics, Jeff Johnson. 

Jeff Johnson:
Hello, everyone. Levi Simon is next up on the Courageous Crossroads. And wow. I’m not even sure exactly how to introduce this guest, other than to say that Levi is a man of great courage and lives in a part of the world that is undergoing great turbulence right now. I think you’re going to be really inspired and amazed by his story. And maybe the only other thing I’ll say is if you want to get in contact with Levi or learn more about him, his information is in the show notes. So let’s jump right into it. Here is Levi Simon. Really grateful to have you on the podcast today, Levi. So you and I are friends through your mother. I’ve just met you in Oxford a few weeks ago. 

Jeff Johnson:
Of course, I’ve been praying for you for a while because I’ve heard an awful lot about you. So did the rest of our class. But I’m friends with your mother, Yale, who had nothing but glowing things to say about you. So thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today, Levi. 

Levi Simon:
Pleasure. Thank you for this opportunity. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah. So tell us where you’re at. Where am I calling you now? We were just chatting. It’s 8:30 in the morning where I’m at. What time is it where you’re at? 

Levi Simon:
So it’s 4:30 in the afternoon. 

Jeff Johnson:
Okay. 

Levi Simon:
Friday is actually the weekend in Israel. We have Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday’s full on work day. So doing the hustle, bustle, cleaning the house, you know, cooking for the Shabbat just outside on my balcony. 

Jeff Johnson:
Beautiful. 

Levi Simon:
And yeah, getting ready for Shabbat. 

Jeff Johnson:
So tell me about your family. Do you have a wife, girlfriend, any of that kind of stuff? Close friends? Who’s. Who’s around you there in Israel? 

Levi Simon:
Right. So I’m very single at the moment. I. My family actually, they live in. They live in England, in London. My siblings, they live in America. So I’m more or less by myself here. But in Jerusalem, where I am, they have a really wonderful community for young professionals. So, for example, tonight I’m going to join a meal with over 100 people of young professionals in Jerusalem. It’s nice to have that community. 

Jeff Johnson:
Okay, so if your family is in England and you’re in Israel, how long have you been in Israel? Were you raised in England? 

Levi Simon:
So I’ve been. So, yeah, I was born and raised in England, and I moved here about eight years ago with a very strong Zionist dream, you know, a safe place for Jewish people, the land of Israel. And once I moved here, I started discovering all these biblical connections to the land, and that just fascinated me more. And the more I learned about it, the more I fell in love. And I’m actually a tour guide. So what I say to my clients is, Jerusalem stole my heart and now I can’t leave. 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s wonderful. 

Levi Simon:
My. 

Jeff Johnson:
My wife has been. And I’ve got dear friends that take many trips over there, leading church groups and all sorts of other organizations over there. And I just to visit myself. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about it. So, yeah, so you do tourism there? 

Levi Simon:
So, yeah, I’m looking forward to you coming. First of all, I’m sure I’ll meet you. If not give you a tour, I could show you something. So I do tourism, actually, the past two days was I. I gave tours to groups which I was more passionate about, which are people just like me who have come to Israel and they’re looking to discover these new places. They’re looking to. To understand a little bit of the history and the importance of this land and what sprouted here. Jerusalem itself, just for some fun facts and statistics, has been attacked 44 times over the past 3,000 years. And each part, each time it was attacked, it was captured and recaptured. It was attacked 52 and recaptured 44 times. So. So it’s kind of like, you know, empire after colonial, just building their remains on top of one another. 

Levi Simon:
And to understand it a little bit really shows them basic. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, well, I love how you said that you had a really strong, huge Zionist dream to come back to Israel. Can you speak more about that? I mean, was that something that you cultivated from your family or was that something that you gained on your own? And what does that mean to have a huge Zionist dream? 

Levi Simon:
Right. So it’s a great question, Jeff. As a Jew, I was exposed to anti Semitism. I was more of a religious Jew as younger, so I’d wear a keeper, the head covering and the tsit tit. So I was. I was visibly very Jewish. I was exposed to anti Semitism at a young age of 14 and 15, being called all kinds of derogatory names simply because I was Jewish. And that was. It was confusing for me as a kid because I wasn’t really sure what I did. My mother israeli. So she always brought us up with a very strong, you know, sense of homeland and the Zionist dream. So it incorporated between that. My Zionist roots come further back from my grandfather who was kicked out of Iraq in his home in 1951 as somewhat of a result of the state of Israel. 

Levi Simon:
Most of the Arab countries surrounding kicked out their Jewish population, over 850,000 people. Jews were kicked out and then migrated to Israel. So my grandfather was part of that movement. When he was kicked out, he moved to Israel and lived here for multiple years with his family and some of his siblings still live here today. So for me coming back, it was sort of the continuation of that bloodline. So the combination of the anti Semitism I experienced, my mother’s inspiration for Zionism and my grandfather, and then me finally coming back and feeling the feeling it’s kind of like a privilege for me to be here as a juno and. 

Jeff Johnson:
You’Re a young man, you say you’ve been there for eight years. So how old were you when you moved back to Israel? 

Levi Simon:
I was, I was 20. I was 20 when I moved here. Now I’m 20. 

Jeff Johnson:
Did you have a, did you have employment? Did you have a job? I mean that transition from England back to Israel, was that already kind of set up for you or did you struggle with that? 

Levi Simon:
It’s a great question. My friend convinced me to join the army. He said it would be fun. Turns out it was sort of a direction of life which I then followed. So the army really sorted me out with, you know, financial stability and a smooth integration within the country and society. Here was definitely part of the military. 

Jeff Johnson:
What do you like the most about being a tour guide now that you’re in that industry? 

Levi Simon:
Now there’s a couple elements. The most is a little hard. Traveling the country is obviously it’s really wonderful, but it’s meeting the people and seeing how they can be inspired and sort of the awesome feeling of your Christian. So someone seeing the church, the holy sepulcher for the first time in their life, when they’ve been praying their whole life to this idea, seeing the stone where Jesus was anointed on before being buried or his resurrection, the combination of emotion which has been an up build of 20, 30, 40 years, all coming out at once and then knowing that I have a privilege of living here on a day to day basis when this is so important and to embed in the people is. It’s really inspiring to me. 

Levi Simon:
So maybe my favorite part of being a tour Guide is seeing that inspiration within people come out and seeing how much the land touches people throughout the world. 

Jeff Johnson:
It gives me goosebumps here in Utah. I got to get over to Israel. My wife came back from that and she traveled. She had traveled all around the perimeter of Israel and she was just talking about how majestic it was and what a sense that she got there of. I don’t want to say something so colloquial as the religious importance of it, but that was certainly there for sure. But there was just a real sense of homeland. I mean, there was a feeling there of purpose in Israel and she said it really had an impact on her. And yeah, you get to live there on a daily basis. So that’s amazing. Now, I don’t. I want to ask the question, what’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? 

Jeff Johnson:
And I don’t, and I don’t want to keep you all day, Levi, although I’ve got tons of questions. Maybe I’ll ask that. I probably have a bunch more questions afterwards, but why don’t you go ahead and just. We’ll jump into the deep end right off the bat and go ahead and share that. Levi. What’s the most courageous. 

Levi Simon:
Most courageous thing I’ve ever done in the military? I went through three years of conditioning to become a tough soldier. I was in a, I was in a special forces unit where we had to train a lot to overcome any challenges. And with that comes side effects of pushing aside feelings and pushing aside emotions. Now, it may not sound very warrior type. I’ve, you know, I’ve faced firefights, I’ve fought. I consider two wars already and other things that would be considered courageous, but really looking inwardly, it would being able to open my heart and be vulnerable to my girlfriend at that time. I think for me that was overcoming something very inwardly and something which was very non natural to me. And to be able to do that, I felt that was incredibly courageous. 

Levi Simon:
Even, even more than, you know, the firefights that are running towards fire and shooting at terrorists and stuff like that was definitely being, making myself vulnerable and be able to open my heart like that. 

Jeff Johnson:
You know, that this is why I love this podcast so much and the opportunity to interview people, that really surprises me, Levi. But that’s such a beautiful thing. And I totally get what you’re talking about, the ability to be vulnerable and to be soft at the same time that you’re called, to be very hard and stealth like and affirmed and all of that sort of thing, but to be able to be tender to your loved ones and the people around you, that’s a. Yeah, that’s. That’s powerful. 

Levi Simon:
Thanks. Yeah, being. Being human and being a warrior at the same time is one of the things that the IDF really tries to. Really tries to work on. 

Jeff Johnson:
So I don’t know how much you want to share about October 7th, but this is one of the. This is where I first heard your name. I was attending a class with your mother, and it was right after the events of October 7th happened, and you were heading back into the battlefield to defend Israel and to do whatever you needed to do. And your mother had asked a handful of us in the class that were Christians, that were believers if we would pray for you, which, of course, was an absolute privilege to do. And so I remember your mom holding up the iPhone and pushing play with a little video, and we all got to individually pray for you, Levi. And we. We have been praying for you. I mean, I can’t. I guess I can’t speak for the other people. 

Jeff Johnson:
I’m very confident in it, but not just me, but other people have been praying for you all the way through this, and everybody that’s been involved with the conflict. The other thing that I noticed in class was, if I can say we had people of different faiths, people of Muslim faiths, and people that had different opinions in the same class. And I saw your mother reach out an olive branch to those folks, and I saw them, you know, embrace your mom and that sort of thing, too. So it was a. It was. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it. It was a real strange time and a beautiful time for us when I got to hear about you the first time. But what. What can you share with our listeners about October 7th? 

Jeff Johnson:
What can you share with them about what you experienced during that time? And. Yeah, whatever you’d like to. Whatever’s on your heart, whatever you’d like to share. 

Levi Simon:
I want to first thank you for your prayers. I believe in spiritual realms, and it’s heartfelt, and I believe it did save me in various occasions. I have some spooky stories. I won’t get into them, but I definitely felt the support from outside. There’s always that thing in the battlefield where the soldier feels alone, whether. Whether it’s in an IED explosive or a firefight, where you just feel isolated and alone. And I knew that you guys were out there praying for me, and I knew I was never alone. I also know that Israel’s never alone from it within the Variety of the class. So it’s heartfelt and received. What can I share with you about October 7th? It’s. It’s a heavy subject. I don’t want to get too much into the atrocities that happened on October 7th, because those are known. 

Levi Simon:
It caught me 7:00 in the morning or 6:30 in the morning in Jerusalem, rockets started going off. It was the holiday called Simchat Torah in Judaism, which means where we accept the Torah, the Bible, once again upon ourselves. And then we have a great celebration. So we drink and we dance with the Torah scrolls and. And that’s accompanied by alcohol, which I partake. And so I woke up a little hungover to rockets flying into Jerusalem. Sadly, I’m. It’s not my first time having rockets flying into Jerusalem. I open up my phone to telegram, I see what’s happening. And I. I was on the Gaza border for almost a year in 2018. I know the security protocols and I know what it means. 

Levi Simon:
When Hamas was driving an armored vehicle inside of Khan yunus already by 8 o’clock, I knew that they’d run over bases and were going to war at that time. I got all my gear, got my bag ready without even my commander saying anything, and I went straight outside. I lived in a place called Al Mona Natsiv, and next to it is East Jerusalem Arab villages which many Hamas supporters and sympathizers there. So the first thing I did was jump to my uniform. I got my vest on, I went on my gun, went outside to make sure people felt a sense of security. I saw a sense of eeriness in the air. Not everyone understood. In on a Jewish holiday, religious people don’t use their technology like their phones. So the message was on delay that got out. 

Levi Simon:
I saw husbands running home from their wives and just taking their gear, taking their cars and going down south. Straight away, I called my teammates and my commander, who didn’t really know what was going on at that time. Nobody really knew. We understood were at war and getting attacked. And were. We started on our way down south, me and my friends, we have handguns here in Jerusalem, so we got as many bullets as we can. Whatever gear we had, we didn’t have armored plates or anything and just started heading towards the south. We were turned around because there was too much friendly fire happening. We then went to base. On our base, we. We prepared. We prepared for our entry into Gaza and we had a mission. 

Levi Simon:
We were mandated for a mission to go clean out Beri, which is one of the which was one of the kibbutzim attacked and I had three people from my team who were at the Nova Festival. We were all. They tried getting us all to go to Nova Festival on my group chat for my team and I didn’t go because it was on a Jewish holiday and I don’t go. But the rest of the kids didn’t go because it was just expensive and they didn’t go. But three of my teammates did go and they managed to escape from there on for 18 km, walking in the sun with bullets flying over their head. And they came to base, they came straight to base. We packed up, they got hydrated, we gave them water and everything. We packed up. 

Levi Simon:
We were about to go out on the. On the same day. We already had our Hummers and on our way to the south. But because of logistical malfunction, we didn’t. We didn’t end up fighting on the 7th, which I’m grateful and also feel like I could have done more for my friends who fought on the seventh. And I have a lot of them. They’ll never be the same. It’s hard for me to see. I’ll never be the same. We then, we then prepared. We constantly were getting attacked by Hamas. Early shot endless amounts of rockets and were training for entry. And my battalion had the first entry into Gaza. We took over the northern peninsula of Gaza, which was a significant fight. Something inspirational. I’ll just say one quick line. There’s a Holocaust survivor named Ziggy Shipper, and he was a well spoken person. 

Levi Simon:
He passed away sadly. His daughter gave me the prayer shawl, it’s called a tallit. And she told me, make sure that the Holocaust doesn’t happen again. So I got this talit within those three weeks that we waited and I took it. And within three weeks of Hamas coming and trying to create a genocide on the Jewish people, wipe them out, they called for it. I was in one of the Hamas commander houses inside of Bethun in the northern strip of Gaza, and I put on a. I put on this prayer show and I thank God. I thank God for the Jewish state and our ability to be able to make sure that something like this could never happen again. 

Levi Simon:
Because, you know, nobody would imagine in the Holocaust that a Jew would be inside of an SS commander’s house, inside, you know, inside the Nazi party’s house. That was unthinkable. But today we have a strong army who are willing to protect the Jewish people. 

Jeff Johnson:
Wow, Levi, that’s amazing. How long were you in the conflict then from October 7th, I assume you’re out of that right now, but were you there for a month? Two months? 

Levi Simon:
That’s something I can’t actually. Actually comment on. Okay, I was there. I was there for a while. I can’t. I can’t con exactly the same amount of time I was there. 

Jeff Johnson:
Sure. 

Levi Simon:
Yeah. 

Jeff Johnson:
How have your family and friends supported you through your endeavors in Israel? 

Levi Simon:
So I believe you know how my mom has supported me. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, you got an amazing mother. Yeah. 

Levi Simon:
Yeah. Thank God. A lot of my friends. A lot of my friends went to war with me. Those are people who understand in the history of battle, which I studied a bit, there’s a group of people who went to war, and there’s a group of people who didn’t have to. The group of people went to war. It’s. It’s kind of like a different reality because we’ve experienced something which was very close to death for a while. So those people I could talk to and understand on that kind of, let’s say, frequency. My other friends have shown support with prayer. Some of my friends have bought me gear, like a new uniform, which was pretty cool. A new tactical helmet, which was pretty cool. So that’s, you know, shows love and support. And, you know, Jeff, I consider you a friend with prayer. 

Jeff Johnson:
Thank you. 

Levi Simon:
Definitely. Incredibly supportive. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, absolutely. I, you know, I’m taken especially with the story, and I’m sure all of our listeners are going to be blown away by what you just shared as well, Levi. But I’m taken by you answering the question, what’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? Is about being able to be tender and attached to your emotions and that sort of thing, given what kind of things that you’ve seen and what kind of things that you’ve been through. You said that you fought in two wars. Now, I’m curious how you define courage. You know, this is my intention in starting this podcast is my fervent belief that everybody can answer that question. What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done? I think everybody has courage in them, even in a daily basis. So I’m curious, how do you define the term courage? 

Jeff Johnson:
What does courage mean to you? 

Levi Simon:
I wonder how Oxford Dictionary described it. What does it mean to me? 

Jeff Johnson:
Yeah, like somebody that’s courageous. You know, I mean, I’m looking at somebody. I’m looking at you. I’m looking at somebody who’s courageous right now, of course. But if you think of somebody that really exemplifies courage for you, what does that mean. 

Levi Simon:
An ability to navigate uncomfortability? I would say I think those, the ability to navigate things which are incredibly uncomfortable, maybe something that’s blocked one from progressing in life. The ability to understand how to navigate that and actually doing it would be courageous because those things could sometimes be scary. 

Jeff Johnson:
I think that’s a great definition. What, how is it living in Israel now with the nature of the conflict going on? I mean is that a daily endeavor? I would imagine. 

Levi Simon:
War is not fun for anyone. I wish we didn’t have war. I wish we had peace. I wish we had. I think comfortability comes with the peace. At this moment when we’re talking is seven or eight Arab countries has threatened to annihilate Israel. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it’s a phenomenon which has risen. Of the recent events we have support from countries around. There’s a big element of faith which is involved with a lot of which is essential faith in God to be able to be courageous here. There’s another element of not watching the news too much which I highly encourage all my friends. The news magnifies things to an extent which has an interest of viewers, they have an interest of people watching and they’ll play to people’s, you know, desires of listening to disaster, catastrophe, fear. 

Levi Simon:
It feeds off a lot better than peace and tranquility. You know, fear definitely is more contagious than tranquility. With that being said, the streets in Jerusalem are popping. Last night it was just packed, people are out there were dancing. The last time Iran’s threatening a multi front attack on us. That’s the, that’s their threat at the moment. The last time they threatened it was in April I believe then the streets were eerie, people were not going out, people weren’t dancing. But this time I see a lot more courage from the people. I see people are more relying and they feel like Israel has a strong back. They feel like countries are willing to and are preparing to defend and support Israel throughout the world. 

Levi Simon:
I feel that the strength that has been projected by our military and by our leaders is definitely more seen than it was last time. That being said, I do have friends who are very fearful. They won’t leave their house, they’re looking the nearest bomb shelters that there will be and it’s a very realistic threat on top of us. Now I want to say about myself I’ll say when it happens. I believe in the world of being a multi dimensional reality which means my fear I invest in now May contribute to what will happen in the future. So. But now I don’t need the future to affect what, how I’m feeling now. So there is a possibility that attack may happen. There is also a possibility, let’s say, that the Messiah will come. There’s a possibility of all things. When it happens, it will happen. 

Levi Simon:
And for now, I will live. Live my best life without it being eating myself alive. 

Jeff Johnson:
Levi, you’re a courageous man. Just a couple more questions for you before I let you go. Okay. What are your future aspirations? What’s. What’s on the Horizon for Levi? 5 years, 10 years. 

Levi Simon:
Aspirations. I want to get married. I want to have a kid. This is a recent epiphany for me. This is. Yeah, I wanna, I like contributing to this world. I look around me, I see nature. I’m actually sitting in like a very beautiful place right now. And all they’re trying to do is reproduce. That’s their whole goal. They’ll sprout when they can, just to pollinate, to find the next generation. So I don’t consider myself that different from things that have been around much longer than me. So definitely to get married, have a kid, you know, I want to be a part of the history here in Israel. I want to be a part of building my country. Possibly less in the political side of it, but more on the side of farming. 

Levi Simon:
I want to plant trees, I want to build a house, I want to have chickens. I want to, you know, live the land. 

Jeff Johnson:
That’s amazing. What, what would you say to somebody who is facing a difficult decision or. I mean, the decisions that you’re talking about, you know, being called back to defend your country and that sort of thing are monumental and huge. So not to worry about different degrees of trials that people face. But what kind of advice would you give somebody who’s facing a difficult decision and they don’t know exactly how to move out in faith? Or maybe they’re concerned that they’re not equipped with the kind of courage that you exemplify. What kind of encouragement would you have for them? 

Levi Simon:
That’s a great question. I’m going to take a page out my mother’s notebook and say, find a mentor. Find someone that you could talk to. Find outward advice, whether it’s talking to a friend. Friends are very helpful. Talking to a wise friend or looking inwards to yourself, possibly trying to take the combination of all the problems which have come to you, try to put those aside, meditate for five minutes and see what the universe of God comes and gives you a message, bring that clarity and then obviously find a mentor to give you advice, someone you trust and that will help decision making. 

Jeff Johnson:
Brilliant. Brilliant. Last question, I promise. What? How can I be praying for you? And I’m sure that there’s a lot of people that are going to be listening to this podcast that are going to want to be praying for you and your friends as well. So how can I be praying for you, Levi? 

Levi Simon:
So all those who listening to the podcast, I believe your prayers, including you, Jeff, is very monumental to the my life, my success and my future. I believe that united we are strong. I’ll say a very story which sends shivers down my back. There’s a festival called the Feast of the Tabernacle run by icej here every year in Jerusalem. They bring thousands of Christians throughout the world and there’s a march walking down the streets of Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of the Tabernacle. Now they have a auditorium where they have an event. There were probably four thousand people there. A Holocaust survivor came along and I’ve been trying to get this footage for them ever since. And she looked at the crowd and she said, during the Holocaust, you forgot about us. Don’t forget about us again if you needed to. 

Levi Simon:
Three days later was the 7th of October. I feel the Christian world has not forgotten about Israel. I feel they have not forgotten about the Jewish people. They’ve stood, they’ve prayed, donated endless amounts of money. They are coming to Israel and support. It’s beautiful, it’s unifying, it’s, I think possibly like creating a bond. Communicating with people in general could be one of the reasons we’re here on earth in the first place. And when the source of Judaism, Christianity and also Islam is based off a lot of the core beliefs is prayer, immersifying yourself in water for purity, belief in a higher power, God, praying to him, unity, community. To see two of those religions coming together so strongly right now, it shows that her plea wasn’t put on deaf ears. And so the thing, the prayer that you’ve been giving is monumental. 

Levi Simon:
It’s important to be outspoken, simple. I don’t know how many listeners of your has social media or Instagram, but yes, not necessarily posting things about atrocities that happened on the 7th of October or how, but more positive light, unity, community, love and connection are things that really strengthen me and strengthen Israel as a whole. 

Jeff Johnson:
Levi Simon, man of God, man of great courage. Grateful to count you as a friend. Thank you so much for being on the podcast and sharing with all of our listeners. God bless you, Levi, and look forward to talking to you soon. 

Levi Simon:
It’s been a pleasure, Jeff. All the best. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Israel. 

Jeff Johnson:
Yes. 

Levi Simon:
Bye bye. 

Outro:
Thank you for joining us today on Courageous. If you’d like to hear more about the work and ministry being done at Crossroads Apologetics, please visit our home on the web@crossroadsapologetics.org Would you or someone you know like to be featured on Courageous? Send us an email at infoorossroadsapologetics.com or infoorsroadsapologetics.org telling us about the most courageous thing you’ve ever done.