Joshua David “Josh” Boone was a soldier, a lone soldier, a partner, a friend, a brother, and a man who lived with a deep sense of mission.

In 2017, after three unsuccessful attempts to join the IDF, Josh did not give up. On his fourth attempt, he came to Israel from the United States and joined the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, with almost no Hebrew, driven by a clear desire to serve, protect, and stand with his people.

Those who knew him understood that this was not a slogan for him. It was a way of life. Josh believed that if you have the ability to stand for others, you also have the responsibility to do so.

The sentence that captured him most was: “I don’t hate what is in front of me. I just love what is behind me more.”

Beyond being a warrior, Josh had a rare ability to make people feel seen, grounded, and safe. People trusted him, leaned on him, and knew that when he was near, they were not alone.

A few weeks before October 7th, Josh returned to Israel with a deep inner feeling that he needed to be home, in the Land of Israel. When the war began, as the first sirens were only just sounding, he had already put on his uniform. He did not wait to be called.

From then on, he served 748 days in reserve duty, more than 700 of them in active combat in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, across different units, as an exceptional and deeply respected sniper. Wherever he went, people saw in him not only a highly skilled soldier, but someone they could truly rely on.

But even those who protect others sometimes carry wounds no one can see.

During the war, Josh already understood that his PTSD was complex. And still, he struggled to leave the battlefield, because he felt that the mission, and the people behind him, mattered more than himself. Eventually, with the encouragement of his partner, Keren, and out of a desire to care for their future together, he began treatment.

Josh and Keren got engaged and were planning a life together. But the treatment came too late. The PTSD was too heavy, and Josh died as a result of that struggle.

His death left behind immense pain, but also a question we cannot ignore:

What happens to the people who dedicated themselves to protecting others, when they are the ones who need a system to keep holding them?

The L’Chaim Foundation was born from Josh’s story

Josh’s story does not stand alone. It exposes a painful gap in the reality of many people who served, protected, and carried responsibility, especially those who are used to placing the mission before themselves. Even when treatment options and formal systems exist, many still need ongoing, practical, long-term support. Not only a single point of care, but a system that continues to hold them after diagnosis, after discharge, and after formal frameworks come to an end.

From that question, and from the desire to turn Josh’s memory into living, ongoing action, Keren, Josh’s partner, together with close friends of Josh and professionals supporting the process, are establishing The L’Chaim Foundation – in memory of Josh Boone.

The foundation is being created to support soldiers and combat soldiers before, during, and after their service, including reservists and veterans, who are facing PTSD, combat trauma, battle shock, burnout, or the difficult process of returning to life after service.

We believe that therapy alone is not enough. A person returning from service, from combat, or from a long period of carrying responsibility needs a stable and ongoing support system: professional guidance, community, structure, routine, accountability, daily functioning, belonging, and meaning.

The Josh Boone Ranch

The flagship project of the foundation will be The Josh Boone Ranch: a living, community-based rehabilitation space in the Gaza border region, combining nature, animals, practical work, physical activity, professional support, community, and a structured process of returning to function and to life.

The choice of the Gaza border region is not accidental. This was where Josh and Keren had planned to build their life together. When they spoke about moving to the area, Josh saw it as a form of repair: choosing life in a place where others tried to destroy it. For us, this is not only a geographic decision. It is a direct continuation of his path: in a place where destruction was meant to take root, we will build a space of rehabilitation, community, work, nature, and meaning.

The goal is to build a long-term support and rehabilitation system, not a short-term or one-time response: to walk alongside each person over time, and to strengthen the circle around them as well: family, partners, friends, and close support systems.

The model will be built around two central pillars:

A therapeutic-functional rehabilitation program
A structured framework for soldiers, combat soldiers, reservists, and veterans facing trauma as a result of their service. The program will combine professional care, daily routine, physical activity, practical work, nature, animals, and community.

A support center for lone soldiers and soldiers without a stable family support system
A long-term support system that will provide practical guidance in the areas of rights, housing, employment, education, bureaucracy, language, financial management, connection to community, and a stable support network.

Alongside the long-term vision of the ranch, The L’Chaim Foundation will also be able to begin operating in earlier stages through pilot programs, field days, partnerships with existing ranches and community spaces, community gatherings, and initial support for soldiers and combat soldiers who need help now.

Why we are raising funds now

At this stage, we are not raising funds to build the ranch itself. We are raising funds for the Founding Fund: the first and essential stage that will allow us to establish the foundation, build a professional and transparent infrastructure, explore the feasibility of The Josh Boone Ranch, and develop initial support programs even before the physical ranch is built.

Funds raised at this stage will support:

• Establishing The L’Chaim Foundation – in memory of Josh Boone

• Building a professional, organizational, and operational foundation, and developing the initial program model

• Field meetings with regional councils, communities, and professionals, as well as initial feasibility research for The Josh Boone Ranch

• Creating initial support for soldiers and combat soldiers before the ranch is built, including the development of a first pilot program

Several professionals have already joined us on a volunteer basis, including a lawyer, an accountant, an agricultural advisor, and a kibbutz architect. The funds raised now will allow us to complete what cannot be built through volunteer work alone, and to turn the work that has already begun into a real, responsible, and sustainable foundation.

To date, significant work has already been done through faith and responsibility: meetings at the Knesset, media interviews, meetings with Members of Knesset and public officials, meetings with regional council leaders in southern Israel, initial searches for suitable land, and the development of an initial action plan.

Now it is time to take the next step.

Your donation at this stage is a way to help lay the foundations for an initiative born from Josh’s life, values, and mission.

Help us carry Josh’s mission forward.

Help us build The L’Chaim Foundation.

Help us turn memory, pain, and love into a system of life, community, and rehabilitation.