Joint Chiefs Chairman Milley lights Hanukkah candles with Kochavi
The ceremony was led by Rabbi (Cap.) Yehushua Gerstein, whose father and grandfather served in the American military.
By UDI SHAHAMJoint Chiefs Chairman Milley lights Hanukkah candles with Kochavi (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
US Army General and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley attended a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi Thursday night.The ceremony was led by Rabbi (Cap.) Yehushua Gerstein, whose father and grandfather served in the American military.Gerstein himself was born in a US military base. He made aliyah (immigrated) from North Carolina in 2007, and since July 2020 is the rabbi of the ultra-Orthodox battalion of Netzach Yehuda.The ceremony was attended by a member of the peacekeepers force in Sinai who survived the helicopter accident in early November. It was also attended by members of the 669 elite unit, which assisted in rescuing the peacekeeper and took him to an Israeli hospital after the incident.During the ceremony, Kochavi shared his gratitude and appreciation to Milley and for the cooperation between the American military and the IDF.“I am happy to host General Milley in the IDF for the third time, and I thank him for a significant visit – and for a brave bond that went all year long," Kochavi said.“The close bond between the IDF and the American military has strategic importance, and it is manifested in operational and technological cooperation that makes the IDF stronger and stronger every day in the Middle East," he said. “Hanukkah is an opportunity for us to pay our gratitude to the IDF soldiers' operational activity, and to emphasize their courage,” he added.Milley said that he is proud to be with America’s “big friend and ally,” and that he is honored for the opportunity to attend a Hanukkah lighting ceremony on the festival's eighth night.