9/11 Victim's Daughter Serves as Lone Combat Soldier in Gaza Conflict
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Jamie Fila, whose father died in the 9/11 attacks, served as a combat intelligence collection soldier in the IDF on the Gaza border. Motivated by her father's death, she felt compelled to contribute to Israel's security. Fila was deployed during the October 7th attacks, describing the harrowing experience of protecting wounded soldiers. After completing her service in January 2025, she remains in Israel, considering it her home.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Jamie Fila, whose father died in 9/11, served as a combat intelligence soldier in the IDF.
- She was deployed to the Gaza border during the October 7th Hamas attacks.
- Fila felt a deep connection to her father and a duty to fight terrorism.
- She completed her military service in January 2025 and remains in Israel.
- Her father, James Gartenberg, was killed in the 2001 World Trade Center attack.
Jamie Fila, 24, served as a combat intelligence collection soldier in the IDF, motivated by the loss of her father, James Gartenberg, who was killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York. Gartenberg was working on the 86th floor of the North Tower, packing up his office for a new job, when the planes struck. He managed to leave a voicemail for his wife, Jill, expressing his love and uncertainty about escaping.
Born after her father's death, Fila felt a deep connection to him, often told she resembles him in personality and appearance. She wears a pendant with his photo, a constant reminder of the "heaviest price" paid for terrorism and her commitment to contribute to the fight against it. After her mother remarried Jay, Fila grew up in New Jersey, enjoying a stable life and excelling in sports like snowboarding and ice hockey.
In 2021, Fila participated in a "Masa" program in Israel, feeling an immediate connection to the country and a desire to learn its history. This led her to enlist in the IDF in May 2022, despite her parents' initial concerns. She trained as a combat intelligence collection soldier and was stationed on the Egyptian border.
On October 7, 2023, Fila was deployed to the Gaza border region. She described the surreal quiet before the attack and the shock upon arriving at the scene, witnessing injured and distressed individuals. She and three other female soldiers were tasked with protecting wounded soldiers while under fire, a situation where she felt compelled to stay put rather than flee.
Fila completed her military service in January 2025 and now resides in Herzliya with her partner, also a combat intelligence collection soldier. Despite missing aspects of life in the U.S., she considers Israel her home, stating, "I came here, enlisted, and fought terrorism, and today I simply can't leave."