Libi Fund

The Libi fund ('The Soldiers are there for us, We are here for them') is an Israeli charitable organisation that donates funds and provides various forms of support to the Israel Defense Forces. It also operates as one of two 'pass through organisations' through which all donations are supposed to pass from external donors to the IDF.

The fund was established in 1980 by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Chief of Staff of the IDF Rafael Eitan was also a key figure in the creation of the organisation. According to the website of the Libi Fund Begin founded the organisation with the intent of improving educational opportunities for IDF personnel and for Israeli youth more generally. However the fund does not confine itself to educational programmes and engages in a range of other activities. The fund is run as a voluntary organisation with its chairman appointed by the Prime Minister of Israel.

In 2009, the IDF developed new procedures that required every donation to the army to receive the approval of the IDF's personnel division and then to be transferred via the Libi Fund or the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (AWIS).

In 2011 a public committee headed by former chair of the Israel Securities Authority, Arie Mientkavich issued a report that was highly critical of AWIS. The report accused the organisation of having a bloated infrastructure and of spending too much money on remunerating employees rather than on assisting IDF soldiers. The report recommended the dismantling of both AWIS and the Libi Fund and the creation of a civilian agency to replace those organisations. However it was subsequently reported that, contrary to the recommendations of the panel, the Israeli Defense Ministry would not dissolve AWIS but would instead establish a new organisation alongside AWIS within which the Libi Fund would be subsumed.

As of March 2015 both AWIS and the Libi Fund continue to operate as the vehicles through which donations to the IDF pass.

In September 2011 the LibiFund held celebrations to mark the organisation's 30th anniversary. Attendees included then Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of the IDF General Staff Benny Gantz and Libi Chairman Asher Goldschlager. In reports on the event it was reported that the Libi Fund had raised NIS 30 million for the IDF that year.

The same month in collaboration with the IDF's Manpower Directorate, the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers, and the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces the Libi Fund published 'Dream 2020' a wish list of items for purchase. Reportedly the list amounted to some NIS 1.3 billion.

Activities

Many of the activities of the Libi Fund parallel those run by AWIS and the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

Supporting IDF Operations

In 2014 during Operation Protective Edge in collaboration with employees of Israel Aerospace Industries the Libi Fund organised the distribution of gift packages to thousands of soldiers engaged in the operation in Gaza.

Religion

The Libi Fund runs a number of religious project whose aim in substantial part appears to be the improvement of IDF morale:

Jewish consciousness field extends across a wide range of issues: fighting spirit, leadership, motivation, mission, family and relationships, dealing with fear - everything from Jewish sources and military heritage.

The Fund also purchases Torah scrolls, helped establish synagogues for IDF units and has funded ‘Jewish consciousness mobile units’ that are run by the IDF chaplaincy. The Fund also distributes gifts during important Jewish holidays.

Education

As is the case with the FIDF the Libi fund works to integrate Ethiopian migrants more fully into the IDF and Israeli society in general through its five week ‘Amir Course’.

The Fund runs Hebrew language courses which aim to 'contribute to the integration and strengthening the sense of identity and belonging.'

The organisation also runs a “Witnesses in Uniform” program which organises visits to the Nazi death camps in Poland on the part of IDF soldiers. The visits:

heightens the sense of mission to the army and the state through the journey to Poland and imparting the memory of the Holocaust.

The fund also organises ‘Sunday Cultural Days’ at which IDF soldiers watch plays, films and engage in other cultural events funded and organised by the Libi Fund:

The purpose of the project is to strengthen the moral fortitude of the

soldiers and their cultural awareness and their exposure to culture

in general and Hebrew culture and creativity in particular.

The Fund claims to have reached more than a million soldiers through the program since 1987.

Medical

The Fund runs various Medical projects which include the construction of medical facilities, the purchasing of armoured ambulances, acquisition of medical equipment and protective measure equipment and the provision of ‘Military mobile Intensive Care Units’. Facilities built include those for dentistry, orthopaedics, and physiotherapy.

Welfare

Like the FIDF and AWIS the Libi Fund provides assistance to lone soldiers including food grants and financial aid. The organisation also builds recreational facilities such as clubs, gyms and sports halls.

The fund also puts on ‘Fun Days’ to improve the morale of IDF soldiers.

People

• Maj. – Gen. (res.) Yoram Yair - Chairman
• Maj. General (Ret.) Danny Matt - Former Chairman

Affiliations

• American Friends of Libi

Contact

Phone: 972 3 1234578

Fax: 972 3 1234578

Website: http://www.libi-fund.org.il/Libi/eng/Pages/default.aspx