Military
FDIF Virginia Chapter meets, celebrates, and hears from Israeli military leaders Jasmine Amitay
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merican athletes have won a total of 2,673 medals in the history of
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the Olympics, so the chances of meeting an American medal winner is low, but not impossible. Given that Israeli athletes have won only 13 medals, what are
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the chances of meeting an Israeli medal winner, much less meeting one in the United States? It turns out the answer is 100%. At least it was for a group of local supporters of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF). FIDF is the sole organization authorized to collect charitable donations on behalf of the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces across the United States of America. The athlete they met was Avishag Semberg, the youngest Israeli Olympic medalist, and the first Israeli to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Semberg was the featured speaker at the FIDF Virginia Chapter Celebration on Sunday evening, October 3 at the Cavalier Golf
and Yacht Club. While FIDF intentionally kept the group of attendees small to accommodate COVID protocols, it did not hold back on flying in a prominent group of IDF service members for the crowd. “It was unbelievable,” says Joel Nied, the President of the Virginia chapter of FIDF. “We have a strong group of FIDF supporters in this area. FIDF did not disappoint us with the dazzling group of guests. When I first heard who was coming, I thought it was a mistake—how in the world was Virginia Beach Avishag’s first stop in her U.S. tour? I know FIDF has a huge base of support here, but wow. We were all so excited.” Before Avishag regaled the crowd with the details of her stunning medal-winning taekwondo match, the attendees heard from another Israeli hero: Major General (Res) Nadav Padan, the national director of Friends of the IDF. Padan is a legend in the Israeli military. He began his military service in Duvdevan, the special forces unit on which the series Fauda is based. Over a 36-year career, Major General Padan held several command positions within the IDF, including Commander of the Central Command and Founder and Head of the IDF C4i and Cyber Defense Directorates. Padan pointed out to the crowd that the IDF does not just defend Israel, but it helps shape Israeli society. As the primary instiSimone and Joel Nied. tution that brings Israel’s diverse youth together, the IDF relies on the FIDF’s programs, like Project Overcome, which gives troubled youth the opportunity to serve in the IDF. After dinner was served in the dockside party tent at the Cavalier, Padan told the crowd that the overwhelming majority of Israeli political and business leaders served in special forces units. If kids who had encounters with the law or the need to get a job Avraham Ashkenazi, Corporal Semberg, and Nathan Drory. to help support their families
