Israeli Defense Attache to U.S. Will Discuss Israel's Security Situation at Saturday, Sept. 27 Chicago Benefit for Friends of Is
Source PRNOTW
CHICAGO , July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) announced today that IDF Maj. General Benny Gantz , Israeli Defense Attache to the U.S., will be the featured speaker at its 21st annual Chicago benefit dinner on Saturday, September 27 . Gantz will discuss Israel's security situation and the importance of FIDF programs for Israeli soldiers.
Sponsored by the Central Region Branch of the FIDF (http://www.israelsoldiers.org), the black-tie optional Chicago benefit celebrating the state of Israel's 60th anniversary, begins at 8 p.m. in the main ballroom of Navy Pier.
Gantz, who was promoted to Maj. General in 2002, became Israeli Defense Attache in the U.S. in 2007. His current assignment in Washington, DC followed 28 years of service in numerous Israeli command positions, in which he advanced from Platoon and Company Commander in the Israeli Paratroops Brigade to Chief of the Ground Forces in 2005. Gantz was born in Israel in 1959.
At the same event, FIDF will also honor business owner Arie Zweig , president of R.A. Zweig , Inc., Glenview , for his long-time support of FIDF. Dinner co-chairmen are Israel Levy and Craig Bernfield .
Zweig, who has been actively involved with FIDF for more than a decade, serves on both its National and Central Region Boards of Directors. In addition, the Zweig family sponsored the construction of a new auditorium for Israeli Air Force cadets at the Tel Nof Air Force Base in the Negev desert.
Born in Poland in 1946, Zweig immigrated with his family to Israel when he was 11 years old. He attended an Israeli technical school where he majored in marine engineering, served in the Israeli Navy and started his own company which produced machine components for Israeli aircraft industries and the Israeli Defense Department. In 1977, he sold his Israeli company and immigrated to the U.S. where he soon became a U. S. citizen and began R. A. Zweig , Inc., in Glenview . R.A. Zweig manufactures high precision, custom-machined components for the aerospace, defense, power generation and automotive industries. Zweig is an active real estate developer as well.
Some 1,200 donors are expected to attend the Chicago benefit for FDIF.
Tribute book ads are due Friday, August 1 and the dinner reservation deadline
for the Navy Pier gala is Friday, September 12 . Hershey Felder will provide
entertainment, dietary laws will be observed and valet parking will be
available. Tickets are
About the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)
The FIDF initiates and helps support social, educational, cultural and recreational programs and facilities for Israeli soldiers and provides support for their widows and orphans. It built, maintains and operates 17 facilities, establishes and renovates hundreds of clubrooms and fitness rooms for Israeli soldiers on IDF bases and cares for all Israeli soldiers. Neither the government nor the Israeli Defense Forces subsidizes the 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization.
Headquartered in New York , FIDF (http://www.israelsoldiers.org) serves as the American partner of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (AWIS) founded by David Ben-Gurion in 1942 as the Committee for the Welfare of Soldiers. The Committee's first mission was rounding up donations of blankets for the fledgling Jewish Brigade.
FIDF, which operates 10 regional branches throughout the U.S., including its Central Region Branch at 29 E. Madison St., Chicago , has received the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities.
SOURCE Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)
