Thursday 03/05/2007 19:48
In what is turning into an annual tradition, the Ordnance Corps celebrated Bar and Bat Mitzvahs for six youngsters who were orphaned after their fathers who served in the corps were deceased.The celebrations were in honor of the Bat Mitzvahs of Mor Alvahor, whose father died from a serious illness; Asher Ohana, whose father was killed in a road accident while on reserve duty; Alona Barashi, daughter of Ayreh, z"l; and the Bar Mitzvah of Uri Parge, who father Hayim died of illness; and Gil Halfon, whose father Shmuel was among 12 reservists from the Ordnance Corps killed in the town of Kfar Giladi during the Second Lebanon War. The Corps' top commander, Brigadier General Hayim Ronen, and the deputy commander of the Army Ground Forces, General Meir Kalifi, were on hand to celebrate the joyous occasion.
Apropos to the Ordnance Corps, the celebrations were attended by the presence of heavy artillery. The host of the event, which was held at the "Mul Hashki'a" celebration hall in Hadera, was child television star Tom Avni. After the screening of a video showing some of Israel's biggest stars and Maccabi Tel Aviv players wishing the children congratulations, some celebrities began arriving in person. Recording star Shlomi Shabbat was the first to take the stage and perform. For the last song on his set, he invited a soldier from the Ordnance Corps to share a duet. That soldier, by the way, is Shabbat's son.
The next big name to perform was retired Sergeant Roni Superstar, who also served in the ranks of the Ordnance Corps. The parade of star wishing the young ones congratulations did not stop there. Kfir Edri of the reality song show "Kochav Nolad", Nati Levy, and many others were in attendance as well.
Aside from the VIP guests, the Corps made sure to provide gifts for its adopted children. Each of the kids received a bicycle, a portable DVD player, a wristwatch, clothing and shoes courtesy of Diadora, and a soccer ball featuring the signatures of their favorite team. All the gifts were donated by the Friends of the Ordnance Corps. The use of the hall and the various amenities were a gift from the hall's owner, Avraham Elbaz. The artists as well as the drum band "Afrikansh" and the deejay, Nir Eichel, appeared gratis.
"The main thing is we put a smile on the faces of the bereaved families here," said the corps' victim notification officer. Gil Halfon, who lost her father during the recent war in Lebanon, said the event made him happy, even if the joy was not complete. "It's not total happiness," he said. "There is sadness in me. In all of our happy events there will be sadness in that we miss our father, but we must continue on with life. I'm sure this is what dad would've wanted."
Source: IDF
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Now released for publcation: in a joint overnight operation of the IDF and ISA in El-Hader, forces arrested an Islamic Jihad terror operative, Anuar Muhammed Mas´ud, 37. He is a resident of Rafidah, and director of terror cells and terror activity, including shooting attacks directed at Israeli civilians
Source: IDF
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(07:25 03/05/2007)
During the night IDF forces arrested 12 wanted Palestinians in the region of Judea and Samaria, 5 of them are Hamas terror operatives
Source: IDF
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