Pro-Israel groups to help IDF soldiers in need

Some 8,000 IDF soldiers to receive total of NIS 12 million in aid ahead of Jewish holidays.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
IDF troops survey golan heights 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF troops survey golan heights 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and the US-based organization Friends of the IDF, announced this week that they will be providing financial support to some 8,000 soldiers in need next year.
The aid, in the total amount of NIS 12 million, is aimed at enable soldiers to “fulfill their obligation to the state without feeling that they are not fulfilling their familial obligations and to serve with peace of mind, while caring for their and their family’s needs.”
Soldiers eligible for the assistance, 2,800 of whom are lone soldiers, will receive benefits of NIS 250 each. In addition, the soldiers will be given shopping vouchers for Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah and Passover during the upcoming year.
In the past six years, the Fellowship and the FIDF have awarded over NIS 57 million in support to soldiers from low-income families in Israel.
"The State of Israel, the Ministry of Defense and all organizations working for the welfare of soldiers must make every effort to make sure there will not be any needy soldiers,” director-general of the FIDF Yitzhak Gershon said in a statement. “We believe that the role of soldiers is to protect our home and our job to protect them."