£1m dinner will boost work with war disabled
BEIT HALOCHEM’S lifelong assistance to disabled Israeli soldiers received a £1 million-plus boost from a dinner at The Dorchester, at which beneficiaries of the charity’s support spoke movingly about their experiences.
They included Matan Berman, who told the 450 guests that while on patrol on the Gaza border in 2002, “an explosive device blew up and three comrades from the Tank Corps were killed. I was wounded and developed posttraumatic stress disorder.
“I made the difficult choice to have my leg amputated. It was successful. The pain disappeared immediately but the PTSD did not. It was at this point (second left) with other speakers and Beit Halochem representatives that Beit Halochem entered my life.”
Mr Berman joined the wheelchair dancing group at Beit Halochem’s Haifa centre and took up wall climbing, which he said did more for him than any medication or sessions with a psychologist.
“I sometimes bring my son to Beit Halochem. It has become a second home to me. I know that my PTSD is not going to disappear altogether. But thanks to the support of Beit Halochem, I have come a very long way.”
Dinner chair Orly Wolfson said the “amazing kindness” of UK donors would allow the charity to continue bringing hope to “people who thought their lives were effectively over”.