Eisenkot in US to meet army chiefs, raise money for Friends of the IDF

IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot arrived in the United States on Sunday for a counter-terrorism conference with military commanders from around the world, the army said.

While in the US, the chief of staff was also slated to speak at the annual Friends of the Israel Defense Forces gala in New York City, the organization said.

This was Eisenkot’s second year in a row attending the third annual US-hosted Counter–Violent Extremist Organizations conference for military commanders in Washington, DC. Israel was not invited to take part in the first conference, two years ago.

“During the conference, the chief of staff will hold work meetings with American defense and military officials, as well as a number of meetings with foreign military chiefs,” the IDF said in a statement.

The Israeli military would not comment on which countries’ army chiefs Eisenkot was scheduled to meet.

Eisenkot was also scheduled to meet with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and the heads of the US European Command and US Central Command.

In Eisenkot’s absence, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi will be in control of the military.

Following the chief of staff’s visit in Washington, he will travel north to New York, where he will address over 1,200 people raising money for Israeli soldiers for the FIDF gala.

Eisenkot’s trip to the US comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Russia over Syria, following the downing of a Russian spy plane by the Syrian military during an Israeli airstrike.

Russia blamed Israel for the reconnaissance aircraft being shot down, accusing the Israeli Air Force of using the plane as a cover for its attack and deliberately putting it in harm’s way — which Israel has repeatedly denied.

Following the incident, Moscow supplied Syria with the advanced S-300 air defense system, which it had refrained from doing for years in light of Israeli opposition.

The US government denounced Russia’s decision to provide Damascus with the powerful anti-aircraft system, saying it was a “needless escalation.”