JDAIM: Riding horses offers life-changing therapy in Israel's desert

Volunteers at Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center, located on Kibbutz Grofit. 

February is Jewish Disabilty Awareness Inclusion Month (JDAIM), and Jewish National Fund proudly supports efforts to make sure people with special needs and disabilities are fully included in Israeli society. 

By Eric Narrow

The trip along Israel's Route 90 includes views of sand, mountain terrain, and expansive vistas. Turn onto a small road toward the picturesque hills of Jordan and you'll also see a desert oasis filled with the smiles and laughter of hundreds of children and adults with special needs. 

They come from all over the region to the Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center at Kibbutz Grofit. 

“Horse therapy transcends the spectrum of all types of special needs,” says the center’s founder, Jill Oron. Participants come from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, and the services help those with social, cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities.

Moved and awe-inspired witnessing Israelis with special needs

Alan Wolk of the JNF's Task Force on Disabilities chats with a girl at LOTEM-Making Nature Accessible, where
accessible trails make it possible for hikers in wheelchairs to enjoy nature. 

By Alan Wolk

The afterglow of my recent trip to Israel as part of JNF's Task Force on Disabilities has not faded, even after all these weeks. I thought I had an idea of what JNF did to help people with disabilities integrate into society, but seeing it firsthand opened my eyes to just how much JNF does to ensure no one feels left out and that as many as possible get the quality care they need. I see so much opportunity for each of JNF’s partners under the disabilities and special-needs banner to do more for the people of Israel. 

I will never forget the $1 Billion Roadtrip Mission earlier this month and what it meant to me personally. I just wish my parents could be around to see what JNF is doing. They would be amazed and so proud of my commitment to this organization. You see, my older brother Phillip was profoundly disabled. Seventy years ago, there were not many options available to improve his quality of life. He passed away in 2004 at just 60 years old, having lived most of his life in a care facility. JNF's commitment to the disabled and world-class facilities like Aleh Negev might have made a difference for Phillip and my family.

Happy days for boy with autism: How horses are changing my son's life

Photo: Jonathan Kaplan

Rafi Osmo, creator of the Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center, supports 4-year-old Mattias, who's 
on the autism spectrum. The two stop to play language and coordination games as Mattias rides a horse 
around a riding ring as therapy on a weekday morning. 

At Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center on Israel's Kibbutz Grofit, children with special needs ride horses to improve their coordination and behavioral and social skills. Sometimes this therapy has a dramatic impact, as evidenced by this letter from the mom of a child in the JNF-supported program. "Words alone could never express how grateful we are, which is why I have tried to share with you our experience so that you can perhaps see where your money goes and how wisely you have given," she says. 

By Li Jackson

My son, Isaac, is autistic. He was diagnosed in August of last year, and as a result, on September 1, he started to attend a special-needs gan (kindergarten). As part of his curriculum, he and his fellow classmates are taken to Kibbutz Grofit once a week for a morning of therapeutic horseback riding. 

Until recently, Isaac was not keen on animals. Animals are unpredictable, they scare him and they confuse him. In the best-case scenario, he would shut his eyes and shake his head vigorously until the animal was taken away. I was not optimistic about him enjoying the whole horseback riding experience. Not optimistic at all. 

Every Tuesday, off they went to the kibbutz, and the staff would relay back pictures of the day. There he was, my son, ON A HORSE!!! We were speechless! Not only was he sitting on a horse with a riding hat (another unfavorite thing of his). He was SMILING!

JNF's Jewish Disabilities Action Month: 'Because awareness isn't enough'

While February is known as Jewish Disability Awareness Month, Jewish National Fund is rebranding it as an "action month" to ensure that everyone, regardless of individual challenges, is able to feel that they are supported and belong.

Nearly one in five people in the U.S. and one in eight in Israel live with a disability. JNF and its partners work daily to help children and adults in Israel who have physical, sensory, mental health, and intellectual disabilities enjoy a better quality of life.

JNF partners include Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran, LOTEM-Making Nature Accessible, Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center at Kibbutz Grofit, and Special in Uniform, which integrates those with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces. In addition, the new JNF Task Force on Disabilities has been created to bring partner organizations together to share resources and meet the needs of those with disabilities in Israel's north and south, where there are typically fewer services available.