Some 1500 people arrived at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday for the annual Belev Echad Gala honoring Israel's wounded soldiers and veterans as well as pay tribute to 1,200 murdered during the events of Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, among them over 60 IDF soldiers, officers, and reservists.
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"In the course of the evening, IDF soldiers currently in the US receiving medical and psychological treatment for their injuries recounted their heroic battles to protect Israeli citizens from Hamas terrorists," the organization said in a statement. The statement went on to recall the heroism he and his comrades displayed.
"On October 7, Jonathan Pinto, 20, was driving a tank when it was struck by an anti-tank missile that left him with shrapnel wounds and serious burns all over his body. 'At first, everything turned white, then everything turned black. Then my face started to burn from the heat waves,' Pinto shared his story. Blinded by the blast, he was evacuated by fellow soldiers from his tank into an APC until the vehicle drove over a mine and stalled. Pinto and the others were then attacked again by armed terrorists on motorcycles who fired 7 anti-tank missiles at their vehicle in a murderous attempt to blow them up. The soldiers valiantly eliminated the enemy, and Jonathan ran three kilometers (about 2 miles) unseeing, grasping onto the shoulder of a colleague until he reached safety. He has since undergone multiple surgeries to remove the shrapnel, in addition to 3 surgeries on his eyes. The procedures have restored approximately half of the vision to his right eye, and both eyes are still expected to improve, although it's unclear how much of his sight will return. He's currently in the United States seeking a second opinion"
The event also honored Daniel Zaidman, 22, and others in his unit who helped eliminate terrorists at Netiv Ha'asara on the northern Gaza border.
"Zaidman, who'd been on leave for the holiday weekend, had reported immediately back to base which had been attacked and partially destroyed by Hamas terrorists. With the majority of their weapons looted or destroyed, Zaidman and his buddies set out on their mission equipped with outdated, partially defective weaponry," the statement recalled.
"The death and destruction that met our eyes is indescribable," he recalled. "Bodies were strewn everywhere, overturned baby carriages, homes torn apart and burned to their foundations. Out of nowhere, terrorists began shooting at us. Tomer, who was sitting beside me, was shot in the head and died instantly, while I took a bullet in the arm. Hours passed before our unit was finally rescued."
Daniel was evacuated to the hospital for emergency surgery in his hand and eyes which were riddled with shrapnel.
The gala dinner and evening of solidarity with Israel and the IDF was sponsored by Belev Echad, an international non-profit supporting wounded-in-action soldiers and veterans of the Israel Defense Forces and facilitating their physical and emotional convalescence and return to life.
Belev Echad cofounder Rabbi Uriel Vigler said it was sad that there were "so many newly wounded soldiers" whom the organization was helping. "I haven't seen such wounds on our soldiers in 15 years of doing this, so it's gotten much harder," he said. "There are so many prosthetic limbs that we're going to need, torn hands, torn legs, and blind soldiers, but we are here, our community is here, there's 1,500 people here tonight, and we're just gonna do everything in our power for these soldiers." His wife, Shevy Vigler, "We've really had to step it up to high gear to save our soldiers' lives."
