US taxpayers paid more to Israeli military budget than Israelis
$33 Million: Hollywood Heavyweights Raise Megabucks as Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces
November 8, 2014
Haim Saban and Steve Tisch at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday night. (Photo courtesy of FIDF)
Larry Ellison donated $9 million dollars before Ricky Martin sang “Livin La Vida Loca” for Beverly Hilton billionaires Thursday night
An army of entertainment and tech luminaries banded together on Thursday night to air-drop a staggering amount of money on a non-profit that benefits soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Steve Tisch ($2 million pitched in), Susan and Michael Dell ($1.8 million for scholarships given in the room), Haim and Cheryl Saban ($3.6 million), Vegas moguls Sheldon and Miriam Adelson ($5.2 million) and Guess Jeans founding brothers Maurice and Paul Marciano ($5.2 million, donated on the spot) were amongst the leadership donors.
The FIDF, Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, helps with education, summer camps, orphans, wounded soldiers, and general support for veterans of Israel's military. It does not give direct militaristic foreign aid. Their slogan: “Their job is to look after Israel. Ours is to look after them.”
One looking after them is one that has looked after a lot of big tech winners in the past five years: Yuri Milner. Milner is the the tech investor whale who got in early and successfully on Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, Groupon, and now Alibaba.
He was not present on Thursday night, but does have his own massive gala up in Silicon Valley for The Breakthrough Prize on Sunday night. (Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg on the board with Milner.)
“This event is always one of the most inspiring and emotional evenings of the year,”
Barbra Streisand said in a statement to TheWrap. “The soldiers of the IDF deserve our utmost respect and gratitude for all that they sacrifice to protect Israel, the only democratic state in the region.”
http://www.thewrap.com/33-million-ho...efense-forces/
Some Hollywood/media/biz supporters of Israeli military that makes occupation of Palestinians possible:
Haim Saban and Simon Cowell
$150,000 donation from TV star Simon Cowell
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