Israel at War
"When the Sirens Go Off and Everyone Takes Cover, We Gear Up and Head Out" says IDF reservist and CauseMatch sales director Tuvia Eisenman
Last week, we recorded a regular Shtark Tank episode with Tuvia Eisenman—sales leader at CauseMatch, Hatzalah medic, and IDF reservist.
Then the war broke out.
Tuvia was called back to his base in the Jordan Valley, and he graciously joined us again for an emergency update. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our real-time check-in, offering an on-the-ground glimpse into Israel’s current reality—from missile threats to family sacrifices, and what it means to serve in a war fought largely by people you’ll never see in the headlines. The full episode includes this conversation and our full length interview.
Yaakov Wolff:
Tuvia, thanks for hopping back on so quickly. Can you walk us through your last few days—what happened from Thursday night until now?
Tuvia Eisenman:
It started around 3:00 AM Friday morning. Like everyone else in Israel, we woke up to our phones buzzing with emergency alerts. At that point, I think there weren’t even any rockets yet—we had just attacked Iran, and the alerts were precautionary.
At 4:50 AM, I got the call from the army: I was being called up and had to report back to base immediately. It wasn’t just me—they called up something like 70 to 80% of the reserves. We all headed to our gear pickup points—where we keep our vests, uniforms, and weapons. Then we were sent out to our bases. I’m currently stationed in the northern Jordan Valley.
Yaakov:
A lot of what we’re seeing in the news is air force and intelligence: pilots, Mossad, special ops. But most of Miluim is infantry. What role are reservists like you playing in this conflict?
Tuvia:
That’s exactly right. There are heroes whose names we’ll never know—people who’ve spent years undercover in places like Iran, laying the groundwork for operations like this. The Air Force, Mossad, cyber units—they’re doing incredible work.
But on the ground, it’s a whole other story.
We’re still actively fighting in Gaza, still trying to rescue hostages. We have troops inside Lebanon and southern Syria. We’re also operating daily in Yehuda vShomron—what people call the West Bank—where there are constant terror threats.
And then there’s the Jordanian border. It’s our longest land border, running from Eilat all the way north. While Jordan as a government is an ally, there are plenty of people within Jordan—Palestinians, sleeper cells, Iranian proxies—who are not. Just today, we had a drone attack from that direction, a suicide drone, what we call a “katbam.”
Iran doesn't fight us directly. There’s no border. They use proxies—Hezbollah, Hamas, terrorist groups in Syria and Jordan. And now that they’ve played most of their cards, they’re just throwing everything they have at us. So these are the areas where infantry soldiers and keeping the country safe.
Yaakov:
The home front is also a huge part of this war. People are trying to stay sane while staying safe. What’s it like for the soldiers in terms of protection?
Tuvia:
For soldiers, it really depends on where you are and what you’re doing. But if you’re in active combat, you’re not protected from rockets. On my base, we’re guarding in every direction. We don’t have bunkers at every checkpoint or guard tower. If we’re out on a mission, we’re exposed.
In Yehuda and Shomron, like in Jenin, we’ve taken over houses and built temporary posts. And our enemies know that when sirens go off, everyone runs for cover—so that’s when they’ll try to attack. Sometimes, we’re actually sent out during sirens to prevent that from happening.
Yaakov:
And how’s your family handling all of this?
Tuvia:
As for the families—it’s incredibly hard. There’s no way around that. Kids assume their father is in danger every second. And if he’s not in a firefight, why isn’t he home? It’s scary. It’s dramatic. And the wives carry so much—holding down the house, staying strong for the kids, dealing with everything on their own.
Honestly, they have it harder than we do. We're eating tuna, sleeping on thin mattresses, wearing bulletproof gear in 100-degree heat. But home? Home is much more emotionally intense. The fear, the unknown—it’s constant. My heart goes out to every reservist wife and kid. They’re the real heroes.
Yaakov:
Tuvia, thank you. For making time to share. For your service. And for giving us a window into what’s really going on. We’re davening for you, for your family, and for all of Am Yisrael.
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