“Friends of the Israel Defense Force (FIDF) – Making a Difference in the Lives of the Soldiers”

Beth Israel’s Men’s Club is proud to announce that Mike Dolinka will be our guest speaker at our March Dinner Forum. Mike is the current Executive Director for the Friends of the Israel Defense Force (FIDF) in San Diego, Orange County and Arizona.

Mike arrived at the FIDF having most recently worked as the Associate Director for AIPAC in San Diego and the Desert Communities. Prior to that he worked as the Assistant Director for the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego with a portfolio that included Jewish communal security and investigative research into domestic extremists.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) is the back bone to the State of Israel and her fight for existence. Mike will speak about his experiences as a lone soldier in the IDF from San Diego. In addition, he will dive into the many ways that the FIDF supports and changes the lives of the soldiers protecting the state of Israel.

Mike lived in Israel for five years where he served in the IDF as a lone soldier. Mike served in the Nachal 50^th paratrooper brigade where he specialized in advanced urban warfare and served two tours in Gaza and one in Hebron.

There are 2,600 lone soldiers serving in the IDF from eighty different countries. These soldiers move to Israel with no family and the FIDF becomes their backbone as they serve.    The FIDF was designated as the single organization representing the IDF to benefactors across North America by the IDF Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot.

Mike attained his M.A. in government with a specialization in counter-terrorism and homeland security from the Inter-Disciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzilya, and his BA from San Diego State University in Middle Eastern History.

Mike is an alumnus of the San Diego Jewish Academy and Chabad Hebrew Academy. He is currently a member at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla and Congregation Beth Am in Carmel Valley.

This program is open to the entire San Diego Community, both men and women. Temple or Men’s Club membership is not a requirement to attend. A buffet dinner will be served. The dinner fee is $15.00 with an RSVP and $18.00 without registering in advance. You can RSVP using the link below If you wish to register via telephone, contact us at 858-900-2598, or send us an email at cbimensclub@gmail.com