David Shor | Medical Laboratory Sciences, 2014

From the JMC lab bench to one of Israel’s most meaningful missions — JMC alumnus David Shor uses science to bring answers to families and restore names to soldiers.

David arrived at JMC through the IDF’s academic degree program, studying Medical Laboratory Sciences from 2012 to 2014. The hours he spent in the lab gave him a foundation that would shape everything to come. During his studies, his department head recommended him for a three-month internship with the Israeli Military Rabbinate’s identification unit. David was fascinated, and that internship turned out to be the start of his career. Today he works side by side with that same mentor.

David has been part of the Rabbinate’s identification and burial unit since 2017, where he uses DNA analysis to identify fallen soldiers. When October 7th came, the demands on his lab were greater than anything he could have prepared for. It was a week and a half before anyone could even stop to catch their breath.  When that first marathon session passed and the team had a moment to reflect, they began building more structured processes.. Using those protocol and processes, David and his team kept the lab running around the clock for the next two years. He led a team of 30 reservists, among them doctors and professors, who set aside titles and egos to work shoulder to shoulder. Even in the midst of the urgency, David and his team were strengthening the lab itself, introducing new methods and quality standards that had not existed before the war, and earning international accreditation for it.

That drive to innovate took him across the ocean. In March 2024, David traveled to a lab in Delaware as part of a delegation to learn a new DNA identification system. The work paid off.  They brought the system back to Israel, and used it to help identify Zvi Feldman, an Israeli soldier missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982, whose remains were recovered after 43 years. David has also helped identify the remains of hostages, and at times, his lab work directly affected the movement of IDF troops in the field.

The hardest part, David says, is not what he has seen but the responsibility he carries: there is no room for error. He draws strength from prayer and faith, and from accepting that in the chaos there are limits to what anyone can control. 

What he is most proud of is simple. There are soldiers who, without his work, would never have been identified, and families who now have peace of mind. He calls it an honor to do this work.

David is still in the same lab, now working to identify unknown soldiers, especially from 1948. Looking ahead, he hopes to deepen cooperation with U.S. and other institutions and to keep advancing the technology. He lives in Givatayim with his wife and seven children.

We are proud to spotlight David Shor — a member of the JMC alumni community whose journey reflects dedication, responsibility, and real-world impact.