East Rutherford—$1.1 million was raised at the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) New Jersey Chapter 9th Annual IDF Tribute Dinner last weekend at the Hilton Meadowlands. Over 400 prominent lay leaders and FIDF supporters from across New Jersey attended the annual Gala themed, “Lone Soldiers as Ambassadors” to pay tribute to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.

The dinner featured Maj. Gen. Yaacov Ayish, Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the U.S. and Canada as the main speaker, along with bereaved mother Miriam Peretz, who tragically lost her two sons in battle, 1st Lt. Uriel Peretz, z”l, and Maj. Eliraz Peretz, z”l. The emcee for the evening was Tal Bar-Or, whose father, Sammy Bar-Or, is one of the founders of the FIDF New Jersey Chapter.

The dinner honored and celebrated Israel’s soldiers and featured six current IDF soldiers who traveled from Israel to New Jersey to meet with FIDF supporters and former Lone Soldiers from the community. The New Jersey Chapter, also known as the “Lone Soldier” Chapter, started in 2005 when three New Jersey former Lone Soldiers, Sammy Bar-Or, Mike Gross and Avi Oren, reunited after their service in the IDF, to provide aid to soldiers serving in Israel without any immediate family in the country. The current Director of the FIDF New Jersey Chapter, Seth Rosenberger, was also a Lone Soldier when he enlisted in the IDF at the age of 24 and served in the Nahal Brigade, Battalion 50.