How Americans end up fighting in the IDF in Gaza

ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER - JULY 12: (ISRAEL OUT) An Israeli artillery cannon fires a shell on July 12, 2014 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Israel's operation 'Protective Edge' has entered its fifth day as the IDF continue to carry out massive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 120 people, the majority of whom are civilians. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Alternate crop of #452057688

More than 2000 soldiers from around the world are currently serving with the IDF, some of them teenagers from the US. We speak with an American who did just that

Lone soldiers. That's the name that Israel gives to the Jewish men and women who travel from all over the world to join the Israeli Defense Forces.

So far, the fighting in Gaza has killed more than 550 Palestinians and 27 Israelis, and among those who died fighting with the IDF were two American lone soldiers.

One of them was 24 year old Max Steinberg from Los Angeles and the other was 21 year old Nissim Sean Carmeli, from Texas.

But how do these Americans end up fighting with the IDF? That's the question that we posed to Los Angeleno, and friend of Carmeli, Ethan Snyder, who, without any prior ties to Israel, decided to go over and volunteer with the Israeli military a few years ago.

He joins Alex Cohen in studio to discuss what brought him to Israel and his experience within the military.