Israel Defense Forces

[Rasputin]

18 Million Dollars were raised by Friends of the IDF at the Annual Gala Dinner, which took place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in NY, on March 28th. More than 1300 business and philanthropic leaders attended the event to show their support for the Israeli soldiers.

Among the wonderful contributions: Mr. Haim Saban donated 3.2 Million dollars, Mr. Harry Gross donated 2 million dollars, Mr. Leo David donated 1.4 million dollars, Mr. Stewart Rahr donated 1 Million Dollar and Mr. Elias Kallimian who gave a million dollar for a house for Lone soldiers in Ramat Gan.

Executive Vice President of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Mr. Malcolm Hoenlein, AIPAC President Mr. Howard Friedman, Chair of the Board of Directors of AIPAC Ms. Bernice Manocherian, Head of the Northern America Delegation, The Jewish Agency, Mr. Meir Nitzan, President and CEO of Israel Bonds Mr. Yehoshua Matza and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mr. Elie Wiesel participated, among other distinguished guests.

Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of transportation and Road Safety, Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz, welcomed the guests, and Israel’s prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Olmert spoke with the guests via live-satellite broadcast. Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ambassador Arye Mekel, Israel’s Defense Attaché to the US, Major General Dan Harel, Deputy Permanent Representative- Israeli Mission to the UN Ambassador Daniel Carmon, IDF Spokesperson Brigadier – General Miri Regev, IDF Chief Rabbi Brigadier – General Avi Ronzky and AWIS Chairman Major– General Itzhak Eitan attended the dinner among other dignitaries.

As in the past eight years, the Dinner Chairman was Mr. Benny Shabtai, President of Raymond Weil, and Author and nationally syndicated radio host Monica Crawly, once again served as the evening’s Master of Ceremony. This year FIDF honored the brave soldiers who fought in Lebanon and Gaza this past summer.

The evening was a memorable and moving experience, as well as a rare opportunity to pay tribute to the State of Israel and to deliver the crucial message to the soldiers: “You will never stand alone!” In the program, FIDF presented its 2006 achievements, raising $46 million dollars for the brave men and women of the IDF.

[Rasputin]

Israel launched an advanced spy satellite Monday that will be able to track events in Iran, the country it considers its top foe, even at night and in cloudy weather, defense officials said.

The TECSAR satellite is of particular importance for Israel because it can be used to keep tabs on Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel fear is a cover for pursuing nuclear weapons, they said.

The satellite, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, operates with a special radar system, allowing it to view much more than existing Ofek satellites that use cameras, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Israel has backed U.S. efforts to get the international community to intensify sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. Iran insists its program is for power generation.

The company confirmed the satellite launching in a statement.

"The TECSAR is the first satellite of its kind developed in Israel, and ranks among the world's most advanced space systems," the statement said.

The satellite includes an advanced imaging system based on synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, technology, the statement said.

The development and launching cost tens of millions of dollars, the officials said. Within two weeks it will be possible to view pictures from the device, the officials said.

Israeli and Indian experts cooperated to launch the satellite with an Indian rocket from southeastern India, IAI said.

The satellite weighs some 660 pounds, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported, citing unnamed company officials.

Israel currently operates a number of reconnaissance satellites, including Ofek 5 and Ofek 7, as well as several commercial satellites such as the Amos and EROS series, Haaretz said.