A Birthright Realized in Israel
The Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem is composed of layers of stone blocks seemingly grouted together with scraps of notes. Visitors to the Wall stuff these notes in the crannies between the blocks - a tradition to remember loved ones who have not been fortunate to make this journey. Effectively the people left behind come to the Wall vicariously in these notes of remembrance, and until now, I had always assumed I would be one of those written about people.
Growing up, I attended a Jewish day school and actively participated in synagogue youth programs. It was trendy, even expected, that we would visit Israel by the close of our high school years. And virtually everyone I knew met that expectation. I travel with a wheelchair and, while I considered going to Israel, I never acted on that impulse. I set aside the dream of Israel until March 2007, when I came across Taglit-birthright israel. The website informed me that if I was between the ages of 18 and 26, Jewish, and with mobility concerns, I would be eligible to join Hillel Rolls, a brand new initiative. Here was my chance to experience a 2000-year-old marvel of antiquity from a wheelchair-accessible perspective. Not only that, as Taglit-birthright israel explains, the trip is offered as a gift to the participants. My obligation was to recruit a caregiver to accompany me, who would also be a complimentary guest of Taglit.
On Hillel Rolls, I traveled with peers who shared the common identities of Judaism and disability. The exchange held these objectives in mind and carried them out thoughtfully. Our trip planners and guides advised our group that Israel was not very accessible and yet, day after day, the itinerary we followed proved otherwise. Granted, as a country with an ancient civilization, Israel presents obstacles of access, but we navigated these successfully thanks to the groundwork of our trip planners. In fact, one of our guides borrowed a wheelchair and tried out the routes before our arrival.
What we missed seeing was due more to lack of time than lack of access. Our 11 days were active and varied. I went to the same traditional sights that my friends in high school had seen on their teen tours: the Dead Sea (where even we non-swimmers could float independently), the Roman-era ruins on the heights of Masada, the Galilee, the old city of Jerusalem, Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, street markets, to name a few.
The bonus for our group was the additional insight into Israeli culture and daily life. One especially memorable day found us in the hills of Nahal Hashofet, hiking on a boardwalk trail in a nature preserve in the Lower Galilee. The trail led us ultimately to Emek Hashalom, a farmstead evoking Biblical era technology. Our task – to crush a mountain of green grapes in a wheelchair-accessible wine press – proved truly hilarious in a slip-sliding way. As we drank the fruits of our labor, we made a toast to our host. He explained it was a special day for him as well, his first day on the job as a nature guide in a wheelchair after recovering from a nearly fatal accident of only eight months earlier. For those of us who face the challenge of chronic underemployment among our demographic, meeting Ori provided us a positive outlook.
Our accommodations for the first half of the trip took us off the beaten track of tourist hotels. We stayed in the Mediterranean resort community of Nahariya at Beit Kay Guesthouse, a fully accessible resort built for Israelis wounded during military service. On a relaxing Shabbat afternoon, another guest noticed our group and asked to welcome the Americans to his country. Shalom joined us with his two young daughters and related to us the experience of a family in modern Israel. While his children already know of life inside a bomb shelter, he expressed more concern with the quality of education and with rush hour traffic safety, concerns not unlike our own.
The exchange connected us with our peers: ambitious adults who are Jewish and have physical disabilities. We all engage spiritually, socially, and fiercely. Shalom and Ori embody the welcome conveyed in the Hebrew words seen everywhere, baruch haba’im, a pervasive sentiment rewarding travelers to Israel.
For more information about Taglit-birthright israel: http://www.birthrightisrael.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=HomePage
For more information about Hillel Rolls:
Andrea Hoffman
Ahoffman@Hillel.org
http://www.hillel.org/israel/default
For independent travelers with disabilities:
Marcus Frieze at Da’at Travel Services
Mfrieze@daattravel.co.il
http://www.daattravel.co.il/
Yad Sarah- rehabilitation and travel support services
http://www.yadsarah.org/index.asp?id=162
This article was solicited and edited by the NCDE, and a version of it was published in the National Youth Leadership Network online newsletter.
