The Israel tour of a lifetime
Disabledyoungpeoplearegettingthechancetoseejerusalemandmasada,thankstoaground-breakinginitiative
WE ARE arranged in a circle, surrounded by pots of coloured paint and plastic stencils, ready to create designs for Purim T-shirts. The place is northern Israel, minutes from the Mediterranean. Ages range from 18 to 25. In the past few days we have been donkey riding in biblical costumes, taken part in adventure activities in the Carmel forest and toured the Mini Israel theme park. A serious amount of photographs have been taken. After a day of sun, sightseeing and loud music on the bus, decorum is low, but enthusiasm is high. This could be any British tour group in Israel.
In fact, three of the group are in wheelchairs, while the other five also have physical and learning disabilities, and there are 15 volunteers on hand to support them.
The group, which spent 10 days touring Israel this month, were the first-ever participants of Limitless, a UJIA Birthright trip for people who use Norwood’s services. Birthright, which takes young Jews on their first educational tour of Israel, has been running in Britain through the UJIA since 2003. Britain’s nearly 2,000 Birthright alumni tend to rave about it as the trip of a lifetime, but until now the opportunity has been denied to those with more complex welfare needs.
Lerona Gelb, who works for the UJIA Israel Experience and led the recent trip, is the reason that is no longer true. Two years ago, Gelb, wheelchair-bound since she was a child, led the first North American Birthright group for people with physical and mental disabilities. Coming back, she says she was determined “to do something for the UK community” and soon had Birthright and Norwood on board.
There were times when she thought it would not happen. Organising any Israel trip is a mammoth task, but that is without taking into account the need for accessible toilets and ground-floor accommodation, or having to devise a suitable educational programme or plan a route through the Old City bypassing the narrow cobbled streets. And don’t even talk about negotiating El Al security with non-jewish support workers, liquid medicines, extra baggage and participants who have never flown before. The group used a bus fitted with a wheelchair area and a lift system to