IDF On Guard
10th annual
dinner yields
increased
support for
troops.
Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
•
he room was packed and
all eyes were on the large
screen at the front. Zelig
and Noga Leibovitch were espe-
cially excited to see their son, Avi,
an Israel Defense Forces soldier.
He looked good, but appeared to
be having trouble hearing them on
the live satellite hook-up between
Israel and the 800-plus people
attending the 10th annual Gala
Dinner of the Michigan Friends of
the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)
Oct 26 at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield.
When the screen went blank, a
collective sigh of disappointment
came from attendees who traded
knowing glances about the unreli-
ability of technology. But when Avi
entered through a door in the back
of the room, his morn shrieked as
the room grasped what had hap-
pened. Tears rose in many eyes as
the crowd rose to applaud.
Israeli-born Avi came to the
States with his family when he
was 5 years old. A graduate of
West Bloomfield High School
and Michigan State University,
he returned to Israel in 2004 to
serve in the IDE During the recent
war, money was raised locally to
provide basic items of comfort
for his Golani Battalion serving in
Lebanon.
"While I'm here, I have friends
still guarding Israel's northern bor-
der," Avi said, thanking his officers
for allowing him to travel to the
States while still on active duty. "It
is nice that my mom regained con-
sciousness," he joked, then quickly
turned serious. `And it's nice to
connect the faces, 800 of them,
to the support we have received.
On behalf of Company B, 12th
Battalion, and on behalf of the IDF,
we salute you."
The dinner honored Norman
and Susie Pappas for their long-
time support of FIDF. Norman
helped organize the first Detroit
fundraiser at the request of Maj.
Noga and Zelig Leibovitch of West Bloomfield had a
surprise reunion with their son, Avi, center, who is
an IDF soldier.
Gen. (Res.) Yoram Yair, affection-
ately known at Yaya, who attended
the Oct. 26 dinner to present an
award to the Pappases for their
unfailing and critically important
support. Remarks also were also
made by dinner co-chairs Robert
Taubman and Robert Aronson.
Several IDF members gave
accounts of the fighting during the
summer's war with Lebanon.
"During the summer, life in
Israel took a tragic twist': said Lt.
Mon Laniado, an Apache helicop-
ter pilot, who had a good friend
injured and a close friend killed in
the fighting. His injured friend, Lt.
Shachar Ravins, shot in the back
during his naval unit's successful
raid on Hezbollah leaders, spoke of
his experience.
"We went to the commanders
responsible for the attacks to be
sure there would be no civilian
impact': Ravins explained. "We
accomplished our mission and,
most importantly, reduced the
bombing of Hadera and Haifa."
He told his sympathetic audi-
ence,"We need to be strong and,
most importantly, united:'
Security Challenges
Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, IDF Defense
and Armed Forces attache, joked
that Michigan FIDF Director Tamir
Oppenheim had only given him 10
minutes to address Israel's security
challenges. Then he proceeded to
do so.
Calling the recent Lebanon war
"an unfinished story',' he delineated
the damage done to Hezbollah: 700
deaths and 1,000 injuries out of a
fighting force of 2,500, as well as
the destruction of its border forti-
fications, long-range and medium-
range missiles, headquarters and
operations rooms, and ammuni-
tion and supply depots.
Saying U.N. Resolution 1701
provided "some real achievements':
he nevertheless cautioned, "we are
preparing ourselves to a second
round in two years, three years,
who knows, if the political process
will not help."
Based on his service as head
of the Operations Branch of the
IDF in 2001 and as chief of the
IDF Southern Command begin-
ning in 2003, Harel recounted the
six years of Palestinian terrorism
directed against Israeli civilians
through suicide bombers, rockets
and improvised explosive devices.
He spoke of a change in Israeli
doctrine that has helped to limit
attacks and drastically reduce
casualties, but said peace was the
real answer.
"I hope they will come to their
senses, break bread and come to
peace with us; but until then, we
won't give up': he said.
Calling Iran "a dark cloud on
the eastern horizon': he said "its
persistent attempts to get military
nuclear capability represents a real
threat to the State of Israel."
"We will figure out with our
friends what to do but I'm sure we
will prevail in this test, too': Harel
said, calling the U.S. and Israel
"strategic allies with the same
interests, challenges and, unfortu-
nately, the same enemies!"
Exuding optimism and determi-
nation, he also spoke about Israel's
economic achievements and devel-
opments in science and education
and thanked the audience for its
moral, emotional and tangible sup-
port of Israel and the IDE
The dinner was part of the
Michigan FIDF's annual campaign
that, so far, has raised $1.3 million
this year. The next event will be
a Chanukah party featuring the
IDF Musical Ensemble on Dec.
17 at Adat Shalom Synagogue,
Farmington Hills. .111
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