The Main Event Guest Speakers
Lt.-Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz
Lt.-Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz has had a distinguished military career for nearly forty years that has included all command echelons, from platoon leader to the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces until his retirement in 2015.
A graduate of Israel’s Command and Staff College and Israel’s National Security College, Gantz also completed a US Military Special Forces course, making him one of only three IDF officers to graduate from the “Green Berets” training course. He has a bachelor’s degree from Tel Aviv University, and master’s degrees from Haifa University and from the National Defense University in Washington, DC.
Gantz received the Legion of Merit (2012) on behalf of President Barack Obama. In 2013, he became the first IDF Chief of Staff to lead the March of the Living procession from Auschwitz to Birkenau, a unique testament to his parents, who were Holocaust survivors and pioneers of the State of Israel.
During his tenure, Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gantz was responsible for ensuring the security of the State of Israel amidst the Arab Spring’s changing realities: shifting regional powers, civil war in Syria, the Iranian nuclear threat and the rise of ISIS. In this context, Gantz improved the IDF's future military capabilities on all geo-political fronts. Besides supervising ongoing operational activities and covert Special Forces operations, he led the IDF through three major Israeli campaigns in Gaza, which threatened Israel on both the civilian and military fronts.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District, serving in the US House of Representatives since 1989, when she became the first Hispanic woman to serve in Congress. She has spent her entire career reaching across party lines and fighting for the American ideals of freedom, democracy and human rights. An unwavering and respected voice of support for the safety and security of the State of Israel and its citizens, her deep concern for the well-being of Florida’s Jewish community, including Holocaust survivors, is remarkable. She is known for standing firm in her convictions, even when it means making tough political choices.
Ros-Lehtinen has also been an advocate for countless social-service programs that provide affordable access to higher education, address domestic violence against women, increase criminal penalties for Medicare fraud and strengthen school readiness programs. She is passionate about improving the US military, safeguarding veterans’ health care and ensuring that returning veterans have access to a college education.
As Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Ros-Lehtinen has voiced strong support for human rights and has also spoken out on pressing foreign policy issues, including the fight against Islamist extremism. She led a congressional delegation visit to Israel this past summer, the most recent of multiple such visits.
She is a Founding Member and Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Anti-Semitism, a bipartisan organization of House Members involved in the fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry and intolerance. As she concludes her term in Congress, Miami’s Jewish community is grateful to this truly visionary leader who has tirelessly and passionately advocated on behalf of our community in the nation’s capital.
