In Israel, one word from the dad of an IDF soldier with a disability makes it all worthwhile

Author, far left, with Tiran Attia, Special in Uniform executive director, and SIU soldiers.

By Alan Wolk

Roni and I just returned from our third trip to Israel and as usual, the experience was terrific. We enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv, the spirituality of Jerusalem, the breathtaking hilltop views in Haifa and the artistic communities in the Golan. And we loved the food wherever we went. You can't beat the chocolate babka from Israel. The rest of our trip was spent deep diving into Jewish National Fund programs near and dear to our hearts.

JDAIM: Israeli man with Asperger's proudly takes on IDF, 'real world'

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

Hey, everyone. My name is Cori Ashkenazy, and I'm here to tell you my story. It's a unique story, one that I look forward to sharing.

It's the story of my life on the spectrum, my personal journey as a high-functioning individual with Asperger's, and how I was able to deal with my challenges and integrate successfully into the workforce, army, and society, or as they like to say, the "real world."

My journey was fraught with challenges, difficulties and many an obstacle. Yet it was -- and still is -- a journey I believe has the power to inspire others and serve as a model for anyone, from any sector or society, in Israel and around the world.

JDAIM: Israeli soldiers with special needs change IDF comrades' lives

Major Oren H., right in uniform.

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 Major Oren H., IDF

You know those pictures that tell you to take a look and say what you see, and after you come up with a banal answer they say, "Now take a really good look and say what you see"? You look for a minute or two, and suddenly you notice something completely different hidden in the picture? This story reminds me of those images.

 
My name is Oren. I am 41, married to Hila, and the father of three. I've made a career serving in the Israel Defense Forces, and am a pilot. For 17 years I flew various types of helicopters helping Israel’s ground forces, making decisions during combat, rescuing the wounded, and helping families and friends during their darkest times. 

Throughout my military career, I have held numerous command positions, and a year ago, I was chosen as the new deputy commander at the Palmachim Air Force Base, where some 4,500 live and work. During my two-week orientation and in between managing budgets, projects and contractors, one morning, the outgoing commander, Lt. Col. Moti, informed me that we were visiting a special place. "Special?" I asked. "You'll see," was all he would answer.

Seeing proud IDF soldiers with disabilities give it everything they've got

Alan Wolk and wife Roni, left, along with Special in Uniform Director Tiran Attia and soldiers. 

Through services for those with special needs, JNF works to ensure no member of Israeli society is left behind. During February, we join the Jewish community at large to mark Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month. Here, some thoughts from the co-president of JNF Atlanta and chair of Special in Uniform's U.S. board of governors. 

By Alan Wolk 

We just returned from our third trip to Israel, and as usual, the experience was terrific. We enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv, the spirituality of Jerusalem, the breathtaking hilltop views in Haifa, and the artistic communities in the Golan. And we loved the food wherever we went. You can’t beat the chocolate babka from Israel! The rest of our trip was spent deep-diving into several Jewish National Fund programs near and dear to our hearts.

Miami bat mitzvah girl brings cheer to IDF soldiers with disabilities

Tanya, second from right, stands with Special in Uniform director Tiran Attia (far left), along with family members and Special in Uniform soldiers at the beautiful dedication event. 

Today we bring you a story of a generous bat mitzvah celebrant who helped raise money for Special in Uniform in honor of her milestone birthday. Special in Uniform is a partner in JNF's efforts to ensure no member of Israeli society is left behind, as part of the Task Force on Disabilities. 

At a special ceremony at an Israel Defense Forces base in Israel, 12-year-old bat mitzvah girl Tanya Andrusier of Bal Harbour, Florida, gave 250 backpacks to soldiers with disabilities. Tanya was inspired by the soldiers of Special in Uniform and decided to do something special for them in honor of her bat mitzvah by using her talent as an artist.

Dad's heartfelt words to his daughter, an IDF solider with special needs

Israel Air Force member Nofar.

JNF-supported program Special in Uniform integrates young people with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces so they can contribute to society like all others. Avi Choresh, the father of a Special in Uniform soldier, wrote a letter to his daughter when she completed her IDF service recently. Here it is, translated. 

Nofar, our dear and charming daughter,

Today is a very special and meaningful day for you. And, of course, a special day for us as your family members. We love, cherish, and appreciate you very much for your work and contribution to society and the community.

Today you conclude an important and significant chapter in your life. You are embarking on a new and independent journey, as you return to civilian life, after five years during which you volunteered and contributed as much as you could to the state of Israel.

Morning prayers and soldiers with special needs: In Israel, running a marathon like no other

The author, Sami Groff, runs the race with Tehilla and Amit, soldiers with Special in Uniform. 

By Sami Groff

The Jerusalem Marathon last month was like no other race I've participated in. It was uniquely "Israel," with competitors praying the morning tefillot together in the parking garage with their tallitot hanging over their spandex running gear before heading out to the start line. It was competitive, with serious runners arriving from all over Israel and around the world to compete.  

It was fun, with bands playing music, spectators cheering, and the mayor of Jerusalem making appearances at the start line and finish line (and seemingly everywhere in between). It was sentimental, with beautiful views of old and new Jerusalem. It was challenging, with hills (i.e. mountains) that laughed in the face of all my miles of flat Long Island training.

And it was emotionally intense. 

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.

North Americans with disabilities meet Israelis 'just like them,' and it's profound

Howard Blas (in the white shirt) meets soldiers with special-needs at the Palmachim Air Force base in Israel.
With him is IDF Lt. Col. (Res.) Tiran Attia, director of Special in Uniform. 

By Howard Blas 

In the Hebrew school of my youth, we took great pride in bringing a quarter each session to put in the blue and white JNF pushke. As Tu B’Shvat approached, we worked extra hard to raise money to plant trees in Israel. On our Hebrew high school trip to Israel, we took pride in actually planting trees with our own hands. 

Fast forward more than 30 years, and I find myself blessed to share my love of Israel with young adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Every two years, my colleagues at the Ramah Israel Institute and I organize an Israel trip for a group of participants in the Tikvah special-needs programs from our various Ramah camps in the United States and Canada. On these trips, we learn and experience so much. One thing we have learned is that JNF is still actively involved in planting trees and dealing with Israel’s water resources, while also creating great programs to make sure people with disabilities are included in all aspects of Israeli society. 

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.

'A win-win': Special in Uniform's new president on why including people with disabilities matters

General Iftach Ron-Tal, new president of Special in Uniform,

honors a soldier from the IDF's homefront command unit. 

Special in Uniform, a JNF-supported program that integrates young people with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces, has just named a new president, General Iftach Ron-Tal. 

General Ron-Tal is a former commander of the IDF Ground Forces Command and former head of the Israel Port Authority, the government agency that operates and manages Israel's seaports in Haifa, Ashdod, and Eilat. Currently, he serves as chairman of Israel Electric Corporation. 

Ron-Tal shared a few thoughts with the JNF blog as we head into February, Jewish Disability Awareness Month. 

How does an inclusive society benefit society as a whole? 

Building a society that looks beyond a person's disability is a win-win situation. It's a key measure of the civilization we hope to build together, and if there is one thing the Jewish people have to offer humanity, it's the notion that we are all created in the image of God. 

Special-needs IDF soldiers pay emotional visit to site of Holocaust masscre

A select group of IDF soldiers with special needs were chosen to travel to Poland on a delegation to revisit history. 

By Ariana Goldsmith

I am sitting on the bus looking out the window on the way to Treblinka, one of the many death camps we visited this week, along with Auschwitz, Birkenau, Maidanek, and others. Today is the second-to-last day of a very crazy and intense week. Tomorrow night, our special group, called Hashachar and consisting of 21 people with special needs and 11 chaperones, will board the plane back to Israel, our homeland. I don't think I have ever been more proud to be a religious Jew living in Israel and to be serving in the army in a role very different than the standard fighting positions or desk jobs.

For these new IDF soldiers, it's about ability, not disability

Moor Masood and Tzufit Zandi. 

All new soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces start their first day at the Bakum, the absorption base where all soldiers are processed before being sent out to the various bases or units where they will eventually serve.

For Moor Masood and Tzufit Zandi, the journey to the IDF started six months ago when they came to the JNF-supported Special in Uniform program, which integrates young people with disabilities into the IDF. These women didn’t wanted to give up their dream of serving in the army, so they started a three-month life skills and occupational training program.

How disabled Israeli soldiers are aiding the Nepal earthquake rescue effort

Special in Uniform IDF soldiers prepare packets of medical supplies for a field hospital in Nepal's capital Kathmandu. 

By Leslie Katz

In a cavernous warehouse of an Israeli army base, Israel Defense Force soldiers busily assemble packets of medical supplies. Surgical tape. Tubes for intravenous drips.

Soon, the packets -- boxes and boxes of them -- will be shipped off to earthquake-ravaged Nepal, where the IDF's first humanitarian mission aircraft landed Monday night to assist in search and rescue and set up a field hospital to help treat the thousands injured since a deadly quake struck Kathmandu Saturday. 

That the IDF is providing humanitarian assistance in a natural-disaster zone beyond Israel's borders is hardly unusual – in 2013, the country dispatched aid workers to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, and in 2010, to quake-devastated Haiti, among other missions over the years. Noteworthy here are the soldiers working so hard in that warehouse lined with ceiling-high shelves of emergency supplies. They are members of the JNF-supported "Special in Uniform" program, which integrates young people with disabilities into the IDF. 

Triplets in uniform, one disabled: A story of hope and determination

Photo: Tzippy Avni

Tzippy Avni and her three daughters.

Tzippy Avni of Eilat shared the following personal story with the Jewish National Fund in honor of Jewish Disability Awareness Month, an initiative to foster inclusion in Jewish communities worldwide.

Nineteen years ago, we had a beautiful set of triplets.

First May was born, and then Chen. Both weighed in at over 2 kilos (4.4 pounds), which enabled them to be released from the hospital within a few days. The last to be born was Shir, at a weight of 1.360 kilos (just under 3 pounds) that plunged to just 900 grams (less than 2 pounds) within four hours. Shir was so tiny that I would stroke her gently with my pinkie. From the first moment, I had this magnetic pull to her, a real telepathic connection. I feel her all the time, and she sees things in me that nobody else sees. It's a bond that is hard to explain.

Photo: Tzippy Avni

After a long period in the hospital, with innumerable tests and evaluations, they broke the news to us: "Your daughter is severely brain damaged. She has cerebral palsy and retardation. She will never walk and will be very handicapped her entire life. That’s the way it is."

"'Listen well,'" I said. "'This girl will run. This girl will sing. This girl will flourish and this girl will even go to the army.' They looked at me skeptically and said, 'Don’t be too optimistic.' I replied, 'I am her mother. I have no choice but to be optimistic. Wait and see what will come of this little girl.'"