Miriam Peretz speaking at the event
Miriam Peretz speaking at the event
Miriam Peretz speaking at the event
Standing, L—R: IDF Sgt. Karen, FIDF Tri-State executive director Galit Brichta, FIDF Long Island director Liron Kreitman, Miriam Peretz, Rabbi Zalman Wolowik, Assistant Defense Attaché at the Israeli Embassy in the U.S. Maj. Shlomi Weizman, IDF Cpl. Zalman, IDF Staff Sgt. Chanan, IDF Staff Sgt. (Res.) Sahar, IDF 1st Lt. Daniel, Rabbi Elliot Skiddell, Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg, Rabbi Sholom Stern, Rabbi Kenneth Hain, IDF Sgt. (Res.) Shai, and Rabbi Yaakov Trump. Seated (L—R): Rabbi Hershel Billet, Rabbi Zev Friedman, Rabbi Arnold Marans, Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, Rabbi Ira Ebbin, and Rabbi Heshy Blumstein.
Standing, L—R: IDF Sgt. Karen, FIDF Tri-State executive director Galit Brichta, FIDF Long Island director Liron Kreitman, Miriam Peretz, Rabbi Zalman Wolowik, Assistant Defense Attaché at the Israeli Embassy in the U.S. Maj. Shlomi Weizman, IDF Cpl. Zalman, IDF Staff Sgt. Chanan, IDF Staff Sgt. (Res.) Sahar, IDF 1st Lt. Daniel, Rabbi Elliot Skiddell, Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg, Rabbi Sholom Stern, Rabbi Kenneth Hain, IDF Sgt. (Res.) Shai, and Rabbi Yaakov Trump. Seated (L—R): Rabbi Hershel Billet, Rabbi Zev Friedman, Rabbi Arnold Marans, Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, Rabbi Ira Ebbin, and Rabbi Heshy Blumstein.
Criminal-defense attorney Ben Brafman presided as the master of ceremonies  at the FIDF Five Towns and Greater South Shore’s fifth annual community event
Criminal-defense attorney Ben Brafman presided as the master of ceremonies
at the FIDF Five Towns and Greater South Shore’s fifth annual community event

More than 400 community leaders gathered Wednesday, June 1, at the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Five Towns and Greater South Shore Fifth Annual Community Event, raising some $315,000 to support educational and wellbeing programs for the brave men and women of the Israel Defense Forces.

The evening, which is one of the Long Island Jewish community’s largest events, featured keynote speaker Miriam Peretz, the mother of two fallen IDF soldiers. First Lt. Uriel Peretz, z’l, was killed in Lebanon in 1998, and Maj. Eliraz Peretz, z’l, was killed during a firefight with terrorists on the Gaza border in 2010. All four of Peretz’s sons, including those who were killed, served as officers in the Golani Brigade’s special-operations battalion.

“I would like to tell you how grateful I am, and how grateful the soldiers and all the people of Israel are, for all that you do for us,” said Miriam Peretz. “We, the Jewish people, and all those who support the State of Israel, are in this together. I find comfort in knowing that my sons have fallen so that you may live peacefully and always have a home in Israel.”

The event honored lone soldiers–those who immigrate to Israel with no immediate family to serve in the IDF–from the Five Towns and Greater South Shore community. Several active-duty and former lone soldiers, and their parents, were in attendance, including Staff Sgt. Chanan, a lone soldier originally from West Hempstead who serves as a designated marksman and combat medic in the Golani Brigade’s special-operations battalion.

“After graduating from high school I decided to make aliyah and join the Israeli army,” said Chanan, who attended Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence. “I was determined to join Golani’s special-operations unit–and through 16 life-changing months of intense training, FIDF was there for me and my squad. When we were about to succumb to hypothermia, we put on thermals donated by FIDF. When I finally had the chance to visit my parents, it was FIDF that booked my flight home.”

“Serving as a lone soldier in the IDF is a very hard job–and being removed from family and friends makes it even harder,” said FIDF Long Island Director Liron Kreitman, who was a lone soldier in the IDF. “The support among the Five Towns and Greater South Shore community is incredible and inspiring, and it is my honor to work on behalf of these brave soldiers.”

Presiding as the event’s master of ceremonies was criminal-defense attorney Ben Brafman, Esq. Attending were other IDF soldiers, including Staff Sgt. (Res.) Sahar, who was awarded a Chief of General Staff Citation for his outstanding gallantry during Operation Protective Edge in 2014; and Cpl. Zalman, an IDF lone soldier from California serving in the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion, which FIDF’s Long Island Chapter adopted as part of the FIDF Adopt-A-Battalion Program. Distinguished guests included NY State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Long Beach; Hempstead Town Councilmen Bruce A. Blakeman and Anthony P. D’Esposito; and FIDF Tri-State Executive Director Galit Brichta.

The funds raised at this event will go toward FIDF wellbeing and educational programs for IDF soldiers. Pledges were made using Text-to-Pledge and are still being accepted at 646-887-3433.

FIDF was established in 1981 by a group of Holocaust survivors as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with the mission of offering educational, cultural, recreational, and social programs and facilities that provide hope, purpose, and life-changing support for the soldiers who protect Israel and Jews worldwide. Today, FIDF has more than 150,000 loyal supporters, and 16 regional offices throughout the U.S. and Panama. FIDF proudly supports IDF soldiers, families of fallen soldiers, and wounded veterans through a variety of innovative programs that reinforce the vital bond between the communities in the United States, the soldiers of the IDF, and the State of Israel. For more information, please visit: www.fidf.org.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here