20 Million Dollars Raised for by "cute little charity" for a "cute little un-terroristic army"‏

From:  nahida 

Sent: April 6, 2010 3:05:25 AM

20 Million Dollars Raised at FIDF 2010 National NY Gala Dinner

http://www.israelsoldiers.org/news/details.php?noticia_id=179&categoria=1

The FIDF National NY Gala Dinner – Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at New York City’s famed Waldorf=Astoria Hotel – brought together 1,400 business and philanthropic leaders from across the country to salute and show their support for the soldiers of Israel. Unique to this year, the Gala, chaired by Mr. Benny Shabtai for the twelfth year, was attended by Chief of the IDF General Staff, and the night’s keynote speaker, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.


Other notable figures present to support Israel’s soldiers included: IDF Spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu; Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Professor Gabriela Shalev; Israel’s Consul General in New York, Assaf Shariv; Israel Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the U.S.A. and Canada, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni; popular Israeli musician, Idan Reichel; and renowned photojournalist Ziv Koren, who donated some of his photos for the silent auction. This year’s dinner also hosted 30 active combat soldiers, representing various IDF branches and corps.


Among the many contributions were: a 4 million dollar donation announced by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) founded by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein; 100,000 dollars from luxury fashion designer Elie Tahari; a 500,000 dollar donation by the Iranian American Jewish Federation of New York (IAJF); and 750,000 dollars designated for the wellbeing of Israel’s soldiers from The Genesis Philanthropy Group.


Among the generous donations, one of the most memorable was given by U.S. Marine, Sergeant Todd Bowers, who was present as one of the representatives of the U.S. military, having recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan. He was so moved by the evening that he donated 1,000 dollars of his own savings in memory of Staff Sergeant Liran Banai, whose father, Guy Banai, gave an incredibly emotional and heartfelt speech with the help of a translator.


Additional remarks were given from Jerusalem by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who expressed his appreciation for the great work of both Israel’s soldiers and their supporters in the U.S. Four soldiers introduced themselves and expressed gratitude for American support of the Israeli troops, and three IDF officers also greeted the guests via live satellite from the IDF Navy Ship that participated in the seize of the freighter Francorp this past November.


Another of the night’s more magical moments was a reunion between the IDF Chief of Staff and Staff Sergeant Tal Shabbat, who had met originally on an IDF delegation to Poland before Tal was severely injured over three years ago.


Funds raised at this dinner will provide such much-needed services as financial support to soldiers in-need and lone soldiers, academic scholarships to former combat soldiers, weeks of rest and recreation for entire IDF units, as well as cultural, educational and sports facilities. The evening was a precious opportunity to pay tribute to the State of Israel and send a message of love and support to the brave men and women in uniform.

Keynote Speaker Chief of the IDF General Staff, Lt. Gen.
Gabi Ashkenazi addressing the audience

Founder and President of International Fellowship of
Christians and Jews (IFCJ) Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein;
Chief of the IDF General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi;
Friends of the IDF National Director
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yitzhak (Jerry) Gershon.

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Chief of the IDF General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi,
US Marine Staff Sergeant Todd Bowers

Luxury Fashion Designer Elie Tahari

Chief of the IDF General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi,
Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations;
Professor Gabriela Shalev;
Israel’s Consul General in New York, Assaf Shariv.

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