200 Women Hear Heroic Tale of Wounded Israeli Pilot at FIDF Benefit in West Bloomfield

Photo Credits: Lieberman Photography Inc.

WEST BLOOMFIELD – Some 200 women gathered last Thursday, Sept. 22, for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Michigan Women’s Luncheon at Tam-O-Shanter Country Club. The funds raised at this event will benefit the FIDF IMPACT! Scholarship Program, which grants full academic college scholarships to Israeli combat veterans of modest means.

Speaking at the luncheon was wounded Israeli hero and Paralympic gold medalist Noam Gershony. Six years before winning the gold medal for wheelchair tennis at the 2012 London Paralympics, Gershony’s Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter crashed in Lebanon, killing his co-pilot and severely wounding the future champion.

“After my injury I wondered, why did I survive? I used to be able to fly an Apache and now I can barely walk up four steps. That’s when I decided never to let myself become depressed – no matter what the situation,” said Gershony. “Now I know that I’m a very lucky guy: I fell 6,000 feet to what should have been my death, and I rose again.”

Co-chairing the event were Lisa Brandes, Enid Goodman, Beverly Leuchter, Nancy Pomish, Janet Stein, Brenda Wayne, and Karen Weiss.

“Gershony’s story is one of inspirational resilience,” said Wayne, who is also an FIDF Michigan Chapter executive committee board member. “The price he paid to protect Israelis – and Jews everywhere – was steep. The least we can do is help support programs for other brave soldiers like him.”

Photo #1: Israeli hero and Paralympic gold medalist Noam Gershony speaking at last Thursday’s FIDF Michigan Women’s Luncheon.

Photo #2: (From left) FIDF supporters Janet Stein and Beverly Leuchter, of West Bloomfield; Israeli hero Noam Gershony; and FIDF Michigan Women’s Luncheon Co-Chairs Brenda Wayne, of West Bloomfield, and Karen Weiss, of Birmingham.

Photo #3: (From left) FIDF supporters Irena Flam and Miryam Gun, of West Bloomfield; Miriam Ferber, of Orchard Lake; Janice Berkower and Sarah Kornblum, of Southfield; Millie Feldman, of Bloomfield Hills; and Libby Newman, of West Bloomfield.

Photo #4: FIDF Michigan Development Director Paula Lebowitz with Israeli hero Noam Gershony.

About Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF):

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 more than 150,000 loyal supporters, and 16 regional offices throughout the U.S. and Panama. FIDF proudly supports IDF soldiers, families of fallen soldiers, and wounded veterans through a variety of innovative programs that reinforce the vital bond between the communities in the United States, the soldiers of the IDF, and the State of Israel. For more information, please visit: www.fidf.org.

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