US Jews Help IDF Soldiers Celebrate Hanukkah at Army Bases

Jonathan Benedek wrote this article for TPS.

The Tri-State Region branch of the U.S. non-profit Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) arranged  for hundreds of Israeli soldiers in the Givati Brigade to celebrate Chanukah a Hanukkah on their bases.

“During Hanukkah, sometimes they don’t get to go home and are instead in the field and on base,” Anat Chavkin, Director of the FIDF Connecticut/Westchester chapter, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). “In order to bring Hanukkah to them, we try to arrange these activities to lift their morale.”

Chavkin added:

Usually, we sponsor a whole Hanukkah party for the brigade where there will be dancing. During the party, their commander will comment not only on the holiday but will share some words about the soldiers themselves to help motivate them.

We are also giving the soldiers in the brigade a lot of Sufganiyot doughnuts.

“What really means a lot to them is that people from all around the world and in particular the United States think about them, share the same values with them and will always stand by them," Chavkin added.