20 leaders and supporters of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces from across the US to join FIDF Women’s Mission to Israel.

20 leaders and supporters of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) from across the US will arrive in Israel on Thursday to join the FIDF Women’s Mission to Israel, getting a rare glimpse into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the lives of Israel’s brave women and men in uniform.

The mission, between March 7 and 15, will bring women of FIDF’s chapters around the US, together with officers and soldiers of the IDF, to experience Israel like never before.

Mission participants will receive in-depth briefings by senior military officers, meet state leaders, hear from Israeli women innovators who are reshaping Israeli society, get a behind-the-scenes look at strategic IDF bases, tour Israel’s prestigious Maskit fashion house, and engage with women in IDF combat positions.

They will visit the Israel Space Agency, and there hear from Israel Aerospace Industries’ Inbal Kreiss, the deputy general director of the space division, who, together with SpaceIL, designed and built the “Beresheet” spacecraft, which was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on February 21. When the spacecraft makes its successful landing on the moon, Israel will be the fourth county ever to do so. It would also be the smallest spacecraft to make a controlled landing on the moon, and the least expensive mission.

Participants will also meet the Dvorah Forum – a professional network of the most senior women in Israeli foreign policy, security, public policy, and law who aim to advance the standing of women – and learn about Israel’s humanitarian efforts to treat victims of the civil war in Syria.

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gila Klifi-Amir, a 30-year veteran of the IDF who served as the chief of the general staff’s advisor on women’s affairs and handled all matters concerning women’s military service, is leading the mission.

“This mission delves into a multitude of facets of Israeli society from the unique perspective of women. We will celebrate the hard-won achievements of women in Israeli society, particularly within the context of the IDF,” said Klifi-Amir. “As the first woman to join an IDF battalion commanders' course, I was challenging societal expectations of women. In this male-dominated environment, if I were to fail, people would say that women simply weren't capable of getting this far in the army. I felt that an enormous responsibility rested on my shoulders, not just for myself but for generations to come.”