(Courtesy of Iron Dome Coffee) On Aug. 10, Justin Yehuda, the 25-year-old Israeli-American founder of Iron Dome Coffee, asked the readers of his daily newsletter to raise $5,000 for an IDF paratrooper unit serving in Lebanon. The goal was met in one day.
The campaign, run with Belev Echad, a New York-based 501(c)(3) organization (Tax ID #81-1569698), supports the unit of Dael, a reservist in the Paratroopers Brigade who returned home from Syria roughly three months ago before being called up again for a 100-day deployment to Lebanon. His unit arrived severely under-equipped, and the funds cover food, gear, and basic supplies. Iron Dome Coffee seeded the campaign with the first $500; the rest came from newsletter readers across America. At the time of this newspaper’s printing, the total stands at more than $12,000 from 93 donors, and the page remains open, with everything beyond the goal going to the same unit.
Dael himself does not know yet. He is in the field with barely any cell signal. When his phone next catches service, he will learn that thousands of Americans he has never met covered everything. Readers have been sending in messages of hope, which Yehuda will personally deliver to him.
“I started Iron Dome Coffee after October 7th because my family was defending the State of Israel and I couldn’t sit at a desk doing nothing,” said Yehuda. “This week, 21,000 coffee drinkers became something bigger. A soldier none of us has ever met is going to turn on his phone in Lebanon and find out that thousands of strangers have his back. That’s Am Yisrael.”
The fundraiser remains open at www.belevechad.nyc/fundraiser-for-daels-idf-unit.
