Nurit
Greenger
A salute to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk?feature=results_main
A salute to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk?feature=results_main
Last
night USA Western Region Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)
(https://www.fidf.org/) held its annual fundraising gala at the Hyatt Regency
Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Organized by Miri Nash, FIDF Western Region
Executive Director, Chaired by the American television and media mogul Haim
Saban and wife Cheryl, with the presence of a group of selected, most
accomplished and charming men and women soldiers from all arms of the IDF,
flown in for the occasion, with the participation of a group of members of the
USA Arm Forces, as a symbol to USA and Israel standing together, and 1,200
enthusiast attendees, Jews and non-Jews, this grandiose annual event, is
considered among the "best in town."
In
Hollywood style event, with Jason Alexander as master of ceremony, David
Forster at the piano accompanying several and news upcoming talents, and Chaka
Khan sealing the evening, a remarkable amount of $14 Million dollars was raised
for the cause. It goes to show that Stevie Wonder, who, on the very last
moment, bailed out of appearing in the event, for some dubious excuses, is
hanging with the wrong crowd.
FIDF
was established in 1981 by a group of Holocaust survivors in order to help provide
for the wellbeing of the men and women who serve in the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF), as well as the families of fallen soldiers. Headquartered in New York
City, FIDF is a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation that operates 14 regional
offices in the United States and one office in Latin America. With a vision to
unite the Jewish people to stand behind and make Israel stronger, the FIDF
initiates and helps support educational, social, cultural, and recreational
programs and facilities for the young men and women soldiers of Israel who
defend the Jewish homeland.
What
is there to say about the IDF that does more to safeguard the rights of
civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare? (Col.
Richard Kemp Testifies at U.N. on the IDF
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM0fTss0UX4)
I
sat
next to an officer from the Drone Unit, his grandfather ran away from Salonika,
Greece, before Hitler gathered and murdered all the Jews living there; he gave
me the message the IDF is bringing to the world: "we are ready to shake
hands in peace with anyone. However, we have the right to defend ourselves and
we will, with might."
This
young officer's grandfather was sitting in the shelter in Tel Aviv while the
grandson was protecting him on Israel's border with Gaza during Operation
Pillar of Cloud. And this sums up the entire concept of the nation state of the
Jewish people, Israel: there are no more defenseless Jews who will be dragged
out of their homes, by anti-Semites of all sort and Nazis and be harmed and
murdered. With Israel, Jews can and will defend themselves.
With
the most moving life stories, one of a young man who lost his arm in battle and
after rehabilitation period, with great resolve, he reenlisted to his combat
unit to finish his job defending Israel, and one of Miriam Peretz, a mother of
six, who lost two of her sons in battles telling the world that she is only
more encourage and stronger to know that with all her pain Jews have a homeland
where they can defend themselves, the IDF keeps the collective promise of the
Jewish Nation: Never Again!
One
of the United States Marine Corps, who officially participated in the event, stated
to me, one day soon, when the call to duty will be greater than politics, the
armies of the United States and Israel will be fighting as brothers in arms,
side-by-side.
Chanukah
is upon us. The fight of the Macabbean is not yet over, and the IDF is the 21st
century modern Macabbean.
The
story of the Jewish nation is of darkness to light, faith and hope. On Chanukah
we can see the FIDF
as the Menorah of the IDF.
And
since a man is measured by his true giving, here is a secret: after 15 years of
flying F15 war plane, a pilot in the Israel Air Force (IAF) earns approximately
$4,000 a month. That is a sacrifice. Is there a need to explain that the IDF is
a worthwhile cause to anyone who understands that this military body
contributes to the security of the entire world and the security of every Jew.
I hope not!
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