On December 6th, 2008, The Friends of Libi in France, headed by Mme Gladys Tibi, assisted by Libi volunteers, held a gala evening at the Hotel Courcelles in Paris, in honor of the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces., at which the sum of 450,000 Euros was raised for The Libi Fund.
This gala evening, with the participation of 400 distinguished members of the Friends of Libi in France, was honored by the presence of many prominent Jewish French community leaders, as well as by Israel's Ambassador in France, Mr. Danny Shak, The Chief Rabbi of France, Rabbi Sitruk, the Israeli Military Attache in France , Col. Ilan Atias, Brigadier-General Uzi Moskovitz, Commander of the Armored "Steel" Division of the IDF, the CEOs of Bank Hapoalim in France and of El-Al Airlines.
Those present were moved by the dedication of 2 Torah Scrolls intended to be transferred to synagogues at IDF Bases in Israel.
A tribute was given in memory of the late Yohan Zerbib, a "lone soldier" who emigrated from France to Israel and was killed on the last day of the Second Lebanon War, aged 22 years.
All were reminded that the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, is still being held by the Hamas for more than two and a half years.
The audience enjoyed a concert given by the IDF's Rabbinical Choir.
Friends of Libi responded generously to this special and moving evening by donating 450,000 Euros for the purchase for the IDF Medical Corps
of the following :
* 2 ambulances
* 2 medical respirators
* compression artery tourniquets
The sum raised also included money for the granting of educational scholarships for soldiers.
The Libi Fund was represented by Lt. Col. Dr. Eric Setton and Major Drori Rosemarin-Goldig.