91-year-old veteran and great-grandpa wins Israel trip for Tu BiShvat

Gordon Mellish might just have a new favorite holiday.  

The 91-year old great-grandfather and WWII veteran from Clemmens, North Carolina, won the JNF Tu BiShvat Sweepstakes in celebration of the Jewish New Year for Trees.

Mellish is a retiree of the Martin Marietta Co. who also worked as a sewage treatment supervisor in Toledo, Ohio. He bought $2,000 worth of trees during the sweepstakes and said he supports Israel through Jewish National Fund regularly because he looks at Israel as a "flowering oasis." 

JDAIM: A beautiful tree of hope grows in Israel, at Aleh Negev

Nina, center in black stripes, and the recent Makor delegation with the tree dedicated in memory of her son Max.

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

By Nina Paul

Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran is a state-of-the-art residential rehabilitative village for the most severely disabled in Israel, located in the area of southern Israel known as the Negev. I had the opportunity to visit this amazing village several years ago with a JNF mission. I was overcome with emotion, not only because of who was being helped, but because the facility touched me personally.

It was almost 16 years ago when in the blink of an eye our family's life changed forever. Our son, then not quite 8 years old and gorgeous and smart with a personality extraordinaire, was diagnosed with a "one in a million" brain tumor. We had no time to research our options, a resection was needed immediately. Though the tumor was non-cancerous, the resection destroyed everything in its path, leaving us a different child.

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.

JDAIM: In Israel, an olive harvest accessible to kids in wheelchairs

Planting olive trees with Dick Berman, center in blue jacket. 

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 Alisa Bodner, former director of development at LOTEM

On a chilly December morning two years ago, I had the opportunity to make olive oil with the children of the Keren Or (Ray of Light) special education program and my good friend Dick Berman, JNF board president of Northern California, at LOTEM’s ecological farm in Emek HaShalom.  

Making olive oil with LOTEM is a unique educational experience for individuals with special needs. The activity is sensory-heightening and also provides a hands-on learning experience that's broken down into simple, easy-to-comprehend stages.

Israel trip teaches lessons on nuance: '7.4 billion sides to every story'

The Caravan for Democracy Student Leadership Mission is a 10-day, fully subsidized trip to Israel for non-Jewish student leaders who have never been there. The unique educational program, which took place this year from Dec. 27 - Jan. 7, lets participants explore Israel by meeting with political, cultural, and community leaders from diverse backgrounds and faiths. Here, a reflection on this year's CFD trip by a Vanderbilt University student.

By Alexis Cook

I went into the the Caravan for Democracy trip with an itinerary and packing list but no solid concept of why anyone would pay for 80 college students to travel to another country. It didn't make sense to me, so I anticipated a heavy political agenda. Especially because I had lived in Jordan for about two months during my gap year, I already had some exposure to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the ways it had affected the Jabers, my beloved host family in Amman. Learning more about a conflict that affects those I love so dearly was actually one of my motivations for attending the trip. 

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.

'No easy answer' to Israel complexities: A young first-timer's reflections