Israel is currently at war
and faces the greatest threat to its existence in the last 50 years. The
attacks that are currently unfolding have claimed greater losses of Jewish life
than anything we have seen in our lifetime. Faced with this unprecedented threat,
the IDF has mobilized the entire active duty army as well as 360,000
reservists, many of whom are from the armor and infantry. Despite the IDF's
reputation as one of the most advanced and strongest armies in the region if
not the world, supply deficiencies for the reserve forces has been a known
issue in the country for several years now. Unfortunately the current crisis
has shone a light on this deficiency, as many of the mobilized reservists are
lacking proper combat gear such as helmets or tactical vests. Local Israeli
vendors are out of stock, and it is unclear whether the army can meet these
requirements in a timely fashion, given what is unfolding along the northern
and southern borders. As such, I have sourced a vendor in South Carolina who can
provide military-grade tactical vests that meet IDF specifications in 48 hours,
and am in touch with a number of reserve units who have been deployed to the
front line who would be thrilled to receive them. Each vest costs $284 dollars,
weights 2.3 ILBs, and is manufactured in the US. The initial fundraising goal
would allow us to buy about 50 vests, which I will have brought over within 24
hours of them being received in New York.