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Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-ex-idf-soldier-from-california-who-sneaked-into-syria-to-fight-is/
American IDF Veteran Fought ISIS in Syria
(Times of Israel) American IDF veteran Jonathan Leibovits described fighting in Syria against the Islamic State in an interview aired Saturday on Israeli television. Leibovits, who was born in Israel but grew up in Los Angeles, said he decided to volunteer to fight against the jihadist group following the 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino that left 14 dead. "There was an attack in San Bernadino, which is only about half an hour away from where my family lives," Leibovits told Channel 10. "You know, they're coming to my home. I am very capable. I know what I'm doing, so I'm going to their home." In 2016, Leibovitz fought for six months alongside the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). "I was there purely because it was the right thing to do - to help as much as I can all the innocent children, women and elderly that are being killed on a daily basis." His most harrowing experience in Syria was rescuing two Yazidi girls he and another fighter discovered in a cage inside the home of a jihadist. The girls were so traumatized they initially didn't want to leave the cage. "They didn't know who we were. I'm a white guy and there's a French guy next to me....That instance really showed me how bad some people in this world really have it."