The Jewish Connection between Mexico and Israel / Ephraim Balfanov – Eitan Meir Stipe (born 1958) was born in Haifa to Jewish parents who immigrated to Israel from the Netherlands, and grew up part of his life in the United States and part in Israel. When he was old, he joined the Israeli Air Force and became an F-16 fighter pilot. He served under the command of Ilan Ramon, who would become the first Israeli astronaut. Stipe served with distinction, setting a record by shooting down four enemy planes in one battle over Lebanon in 1982. On another mission, he shot down a total of five Syrian planes. Stibbe was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and continued to teach at the FAI Flight Academy. In all, he served in the Israeli Air Force for 43 years.
Meanwhile, in 1984, he joined Israel Aircraft Industries to help modify and improve an Israeli Lavi fighter jet. The following year, he co-founded Elar, a new developer of Israeli military technology. By the time he left the company in 2011 and sold all of his shares, he had become a millionaire. Stibbe then turned to the new Vital Capital Fund, which invests specifically in projects aimed at alleviating poverty and cleaning up the environment. The fund has helped provide sanitation, electricity, and healthcare services to millions of people around the world, and has won many awards for its charitable work.
Stippy has always dreamed of following his mentor Ilan Ramon into space. He bought a $55 million ticket on the SpaceX ship, in cooperation with Axiom Space, which took off on April 8 on a 10-day mission. This is the first privately funded human mission to space, and Stipe is now the second Israeli to travel into space. He is not only a traveler, but also does important scientific work, having conducted a total of 35 experiments, including on space radiation, optics, and quantum communications. Due to various delays, the Rakia mission (from the Biblical Hebrew word for outer space) ended in conjunction with Passover. So, Stippy took the Easter kit prepared by Chabad, with Shamura Matsah and four small cans of grape juice (wine is prohibited on the ISS!) and the return flight was also delayed due to bad weather, however, it was indeed possible. to return to earth.
source: jewish week
