The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) raised over $500 thousand at a private event on Monday evening in Lawrence, New York.
The fundraising event, a barbecue dinner, was organized by the FIDF Long Island Chapter and hosted by Ruthy and Ari Jungreis. The funds will be allocated towards the building of new housing for lone soldiers, IDF soldiers whose families reside abroad.
Notable participants in the event included FIDF CEO Steven Weil, FIDF National Director Major General (res.) Nadav Padan, and IDF Naval Attaché Cpt. Guy Barak. Four IDF lone soldiers also attended the event.
Over 1,000 lone soldiers from the US are currently serving in the IDF, out of which some 200 hail from New York and some 50 are from Long Island alone.
In a similar event on September 4, the FIDF raised over two million dollars at an event celebrating members of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers who forego their legal exemption from service.
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 24 chapters throughout the United States.
FIDF supports IDF soldiers, families of fallen soldiers, and wounded veterans through a variety of programs that reinforce the vital bond between the communities in the United States, the soldiers of the IDF, and the state of Israel.