UJIA Manchester honour Yom Ha'atzmaut

UJIA Manchester held two special events to mark Yom Ha'atzmaut with guest speaker Ori Shnitzer, a pilot in the IDF.

The newly formed Young UJIA committee in Manchester chose this for their first event, held at the home of Iris and Barry Chaytow on Thursday 23 April. Over twenty people attended, celebrating Israel's 61st birthday and to hear from Ori (29) now in the reserves, who recalled his daring helicopter rescue mission, behind enemy lines, during the Second Lebanon War. UJIA shaliach, Inbar Radyan, served alongside Ori in the army.

Remarkably, and against all odds, Ori and his crew braved hostile attack to successfully bring their fellow soldiers home. UJIA Manchester Vice-Chairman, Andrew Joseph gave a quick update on recent UJIA activity.

The following Sunday 26 April, forty of UJIA Manchester's most committed donors also heard from Ori, hosted by Stephen and Shoshi Elias with a thank you from UJIA Manchester Chairman, Keith Black.

UJIA Regional Director, Ilana Ray, said "It was extremely inspiring to hear from a young man, who represents a smart, committed and determined young generation. Both audiences were moved by Ori's account, he truly deserves the medal of honour he was awarded and we thank him for coming to Manchester to share his story."