New reports indicate that at this time, Israel is preparing for a decisive military operation in Gaza. Over 50,000 IDF troops are mobilizing for what has been described as the final, crushing assault against Hamas. This operation is expected to be intense, with heavy resistance anticipated in Gaza’s central and southern regions, particularly in Khan Younis and Rafah.

On March 18, you will hear from IDF Major (res) Shai Bernstein who has travelled back and forth from NY to Gaza 3x to lead his elite infantry unit & Joe Richards, founder of Shields of Steel.

Shai was born in NYC and moved to Jerusalem with his family at a young age. Two years ago, he relocated back to New York with his wife and children to work in the tech sector.

Earlier on, following two years of Yeshiva study, Shai was accepted to the elite reconnaissance unit of Sayeret Givati. Once he completed the rigorous 16-month training, Shai was chosen to attend Officers’ Training Course. During Officer Training, Shai was part of a small delegation sent to Germany to train cadets in the German army’s officer training program (10 Israeli cadets selected out of 600).

Shai has a unique and very personal perspective on the Gaza Strip, as he served there before, during, and after the disengagement in 2005. He has led countless special reconnaissance operations throughout Gaza and is considered an incredibly valuable asset in Israel’s campaign to root out Hamas and recover our hostages.

Shai will share his personal experiences from the current war in Gaza where he unfortunately lost close friends and soldiers. He has important stories to share, on Jewish resilience during this moment in history, and he does so with passion and eloquence.

We hope you will join Shai for this special evening.

Shields of Steel, a 501c3 non profit organization

The logistical complexity to call up an 360,000 Israeli reservists to defend their homeland in the wake of the Oct 7 attacks was nothing short of unprecedented.

Men and women, with children and jobs, answered the call and rushed to the front lines only to receive outdated equipment held in storage.

An attack at this scale was never imagined.

The need for a strong community response was critical: without an efficient and experienced operation, the material risks, such as equipment stalled in transit or worse, lacking necessary certifications for military use, would cost many lives.

Due to the unparalleled enlistment, there was an immediate need for protective and tactical gear; primarily Ceramic Vests, Tactical Helmets, Drones and other equipment that cannot be sourced by the public.

The Team at Shields of Steel has unique experience in this area and was deeply acquainted with each and every step in the complicated process to procure and deliver protective gear. While the reality on the ground changed rapidly, we we moved into action having dealt with similar circumstances in providing tactical protective gear, thermal imaging devices and more in previous conflicts.

We are in this together, and with your help - we will win, we will stay prepared for the next battle and protect our brave sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, risking their lives for our ancestral homeland.

Shields of Steel is a project of GSD Advisers Inc., a 501(c)3 not for profit organization focused on the security of the Jewish people. All donations are fully tax deductible to the extent of the law. The organization has no overhead, takes no management fee or commissions.

100 % of the donations go directly to protecting our soldiers and defending Israel.

Our tax ID # is 85-0500393 shieldsofsteel.org

From Gaza to Westport

An Evening With IDF Capt. Shai Bernstein (res) hosted by Joe Richards, Eric Ritter & Sean Stiefel

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