Asaf returned to Israel as part of the Birthright Israel program and later participated on a volunteer trip to Israel through the Birmingham Jewish Federation. But he put off moving back to Israel while he studied biomedical engineering — ultimately as a PhD student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
He made aliyah, or returned to Israel, when he was 28 and overcame a number of obstacles — including his “advanced” age — to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. He ended up serving on active duty with the storied Golani Brigade.