PodCats 6:6:9 Minutes of the American Friends of Unit 669

Our guest is Ben Zeskind , a long-time supporter of Unit 669 and one of the American Friends’ dedicated donors. We were lucky to be introduced to him by our Vice Chairman, Peter Feinberg. Ben is the co-founder and CEO of Immuneering Corporation , a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new cancer treatments. For nearly two decades, Ben has been working on a single mission- to...

Ourv guest is Amy Lebovitz, a long-time friend and supporter of Unit 669 and one of the American Friends’ dedicated donors. Amy is a business owner with decades of experience in manufacturing, warehousing, and supply-chain management. In her professional life, she has worked closely with complex logistics, global trade, and tariffs- building companies that keep products and people moving even in c...

Our guest today serves as a combat operator in team 48 in Unit 669. He is a member of Kibbutz Alumim, located near theGaza border. On October 7th, 2023, O. found himself fighting todefend his community when terrorists infiltrated the kibbutz. Alongside his Kibutz on-call team, O. helped protect dozens of families who were under attack. That day changed the lives of everyone in Alumim - and left a...

E. reflects on his service, his bond with his twin brother, and the strength it takes to keep going after loss. Our guest serves as a combat operator in team 49 in Unit 669. E. served since the beginning of the war in Gaza and finished his active duty on December 2024. During the war, their team lost 2 teammates. E.. found himself during the war serving in a special combat team with a unit called...

Exploring the human side of a mission defined by impossible decisions and extraordinary bravery. A firsthand account from a Unit 669 combat operator who helped bring four Israeli hostages home after 245 days in captivity. Our guest serves as a combat operator in team 47 in Unit 669. In the early hours of June 8th, 2024, a highly coordinated rescuemission—that was later named Operation Arnon—unfold...

Our guest served as the Chief Medical Officer of Unit 669 in2006-2009. He is a true example of how dedication, discipline, and a passion for innovation can shape a meaningful career. From his early days navigating the challenges of tech, through his impactful military service, to building and successfully selling Gecko in 2019 in millions of dollars to Tevapharmaceuticals, Yechiel’s journey is pac...

Our guest served in Team 22 of Unit 669. Afterward, he went on to the IDF Officers Academy and returned to the unit, where he served in severaladvanced officer roles. He grew up on a moshav and began his career as a farmer. Blending agriculture with innovation, he brought technology into his work with seeds and eventually sold his first company to Sugat Industries—Israel’s leading supplierof sugar...

Our guest served in Unit 669 as a combat medical doctor, he is a partner at Pitango HealthTech, a leading venture capital firm dedicated to transforming healthcare through innovation. With a unique background that blends clinical medicine and business strategy, he brings a wealth of experience in both the healthcare and investment sectors. He holds both MD and MBA degrees. In this conversation, Jo...

Our guest serves as a board member of the AFU669 and one of its donors. He is a Senior Managing Director, Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Oppenheimer & Co. He started his career as a pharmacist and holds a degree from Rutgers University and MAB in Finance from NYU Business School. In this conversation, Michael will share his personal journey,his business and Zionist experience, and th...

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Dr. Amit Lehavi — a combat physician in Unit 669, entrepreneur, and founder of QLog. After serving over 300 days since October 7th and participating in five wars, Amit shares how his experiences on the front lines inspired him to “duplicate himself” through technology, transforming hospital efficiency and patient care. With a background in computer scienc...

Our guest is a combat soldier serving in Team 42 of the unit. He was called to duty on October 7th and has spent countless days since then operating in Gaza and Lebanon, both on the ground and in the air. Throughout the conflict, he participated in hundreds of rescue missions, all while finding time to get married. G.M., the author of From Zero to Hundred and The Rescue, has written two compelling...

Our guests are teammates from team 34, Shahar Yanai was hosted here in the past and shared with us his story and rich experience in the crypto and gaming industry and Ori Ardman, an entrepreneur and investor which is involved in a few businesses and start-ups  in various industries. Shahar and Ori are served in the same team with Tom Ish Shalom and Daniel Alush who tragically lost their lives in t...

Our guest speaker served as a combat soldier in the 30th team.  He served as a mentee in the Cat 669 alumni association. He holds a master’s in business administration and a Mechanical Engineering degree from Ben-Gurion University of Negev. He is currently the CEO and Co-founder of RoboTiCan - a company that creates and develops autonomous robotics for the last decade. Hagai's LinkedIn: https://ww...

Our guest serves as a combat physician in unit 669, he is a neurosurgeon in a big hospital in the center of Israel. He was called on Oct. 7th and served many days since then in Gaza. He participated in hundreds of rescue missions during the war, and he is one of the survivors from the tragic helicopter crash during a rescue mission in Gaza on September 10th, 2024, which in, Tom Ish Shalom and Dani...

Our guest today serves around 70 days in reserve duty every year! He is a helicopter and water senior instructor for more than 20 years.   He is a Scientific and Business Consulting in Medical Device development. He co-founded and managed a few companies, and today he has 2 working companies in the industry. He is a teacher at Ben Gurion University in the Negev, and above all that he is a husband...

Our guest served in team 42, he made Aliya from Toronto Canada, and served as a lone soldier. After the military service, he proceeded to medical school as a scholarship recipient from our alumni organization. He was called on Oct. 7th while was in the US for his studies, and served since then in Gaza for 270 days in a row in our special vehicles division and participated in hundreds of rescue mis...

Our guest served in team 35, then he became a combat paramedic, and today he is a combat physician, an Orthopedic Surgeon Resident at the Tel Aviv Medical Center and is the Head of Research at the Levin Center of Surgical Innovation & 3D Printing. He was called on Oct. 7th and served for 152 days in Gaza in a row in our special vehicles division and participated in hundreds of rescue missions...

Our guest served in team 30, he is a professional photographer that decided to volunteer when the war started to document it from inside Gaza and show the IDF and especially Unit 669 from behind the camera. He has more than 120 GB of footage and he is already created a book that will be in the stores soon.

Our guest has served in Team 35 of Unit 669 as a combat soldier and a commander. Additionally, he served as the Unit’s R&D department manager.  He is an entrepreneur, who founded a successful company in the internet advertising industry, ad tech 8 year ago and serves as its Co-CEO until today. Under and additional to this company, they founded another few sub companies that are working in the...

Yoram Behiri served as the Chairman, President & CEO of Tnuva USA, Inc. He established and managed a strong distribution network and supply chain in the US and Canada, and working alongside large distributors like Kroger, Costco, and Shoprite. Yoram has served as an officer in the Israel Defense Force. Yoram is one of our donors and for the last 4 years, serves as a board member and is the tre...

In this episode, we invite you to join Bar Reuven, the Co-founder of the CAT 669 Alumni Association and the Executive Vice President of Development for the American Friends of Unit 669 (AFU669). Bar is also an accomplished entrepreneur, having sold his first startup, Mishlohof, a few years ago. Currently, he serves as the Co-founder and CEO of Dishare. Accompanying him is Dr. Jonathan Feffer, an i...

Our guest has served in a large range of roles in law enforcement, world militaries, and special task forces including Unit 669. He has an extensive education in medicine and received his Master’s degree in Extreme Medicine and Humanitarian Aid from the University of Exeter in England. For the last 16 years he has been working for one of the wealthiest and well-known families in the world, the Ade...

Our guest served as a combat medic and as the medical department’s deputy commander. He is a scholarship from our alumni association. He achieved his dream of being a medical doctor against all odds and after a sad family disaster. He lives in Ashkelon with his wife and their 7 kids.

Our guest served as a combat soldier in 38 team.  He is probably the only person ever who served in Unit 8200 and then in Unit 669. He holds a bachelor’s and Master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University. He worked in Stanford and Lyft, and today he serves as a Senior software engineer at Apple and lives in Silicon Valley. Guy Amdur's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-am...

Our guest served as a combat soldier in the 21st team. He grew up in Tel Aviv, started unprofessionally his career when he was 12 years old, and then again when he was 28 years old. He is a film director and screenwriter with movies that won many awards and festivals. In 2001 he started working with the big players in Hollywood such as Gerard Butler who played in his movie. He has been the creativ...