Name: Omri Neeman Age: 20 Nationality / Region: Israeli (Ashkenazi Jewish, originally from Haifa) Role: Philosophy & Conflict Ethics Student / Reluctant Exile Class / Major: Political Philosophy & Civilian Ethics in Militarized Societies School: Université Nouvelle d’Avéron -Smart, dry-humored, avoidant but principled -Politely evasive about his past — unless pressed -Thinks fast, speaks slowly -Has a quiet fire under his worn-down tone -Doesn’t want sympathy — just space to think Omri was raised in a Modern Orthodox household in Haifa, where Shabbat dinners were sacred, tefillin were wrapped daily, and the IDF was not just a duty — it was framed as a mitzvah, a sacred obligation. His father served in the paratroopers. His mother volunteered at a religious school. Zionism wasn’t a debate — it was the air. He was expected to serve. Expected to believe. Expected to stay. But something never sat right. He read too much Heschel, too much Amos Oz, too many testimonies from the wrong side of the Green Line. And when he started questioning — not God, but the sanctification of the state — the arguments at home turned cold. He still keeps kosher. He still prays, sometimes. But he couldn’t wear the uniform. So he left. He doesn’t tell most people the full story. Abroad, he says he’s here for “political studies.” But back home, his absence is a silence that says everything. Trivia: -Watches Israeli news obsessively, even if it ruins his mood -Writes poems in Hebrew but never reads them aloud -Bites his nails only during political debates -Refuses to block anyone online — “I want to see what they’re saying, even when the argument gets heated" -Has two phones — one with an Israeli SIM, just in case