Amira's Posts

This month, members of Camp Ramah in New England’s Tikvah Program returned to their home communities in New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Florida and California. Unlike their neurotypical peers who have year-round opportunities to participate in Jewish life, learning and socialization, our campers with such special needs as autism, cognitive impairments and cerebral palsy will sadly return to isolation and a lack of meaningful Jewish connection. And they will long for their return to camp in 10 months. How can the campers and their beloved counselors stay connected year-round? “Shabbos Is Calling!”

“Shabbos Is Calling” is a Ruderman Family Foundation-funded weekly video conference program for members of the Tikvah community. Each Thursday night, campers and staff members log on and the faces and names of their friends appear, Brady-Bunch style, across the screen. Staff members prepare stories about the weekly Torah portion and upcoming holidays, lead songs and facilitate 30 minutes of weekly “schmoozing” where the campers share their week – birthdays, school plays and sports meets – and what they’re looking forward to that Shabbos.

As Roberta, Sam’s mother, reports, Sam’s camp friends are his only Jewish friends, so “Shabbos is Calling” is the only Jewish activity he does with friends during the year. Sam looks forward to his weekly computer chat with camp friends all year. Or as Betty, mother of Ilyse, writes: It makes summer camp life and not just camp.

“Shabbos Is Calling,” underway in four Ramah camps so far, is a wonderful tool for keeping children and adults with and without special needs connected and engaged year-round.

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Original Article Published on The Jerusalem Post

The story of Israel’s first Jewish-Arab tennis team at the Special Olympics

Four special Israeli athletes are true champions of tennis and coexistence. Two Israeli Jews and two Israeli Arabs represented Israel at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece. This is the first time Israeli Arabs have been chosen to represent the country in the Olympics.

The four players, who competed in both singles and doubles tennis matches, joined 7,500 Special Olympics athletes from 185 countries, from all ability levels, in 21 Olympic-type sports. Since 1968, Special Olympics has offered more than 3.4 million children and adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to compete in sports events.

The story of the Israeli delegation and their road to Athens is inspiring and heartwarming. It shows how people with so-called disabilities often have amazing abilities.

Additionally, people with long histories of not getting along can come together around a common goal.

Elad Gevandschnaider, a 22 year old Israeli Jew from Be’er Sheva, is a volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and trains at the Israel Tennis Center (ITC) in Beersheva. He won a silver medal at the European Championships in Poland a few months ago. He also has down syndrome. Athletes with intellectual disabilities receive free equipment and coaching at each of the 14 Israel Tennis Centers (ITC) throughout Israel. Gevandschnaider reports proudly, I will do everything to win. I want to be a champion.

Tamir Segal, a 34 year old Israeli Jew from the Golan Heights town of Katzrin, lives in Kiryat Shemona and practices daily at the ITC center there. He is the most experienced player on the team; he won the gold medal at the 2006 European Championships in Berlin and the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in 2007 in Shanghai.

Muhammad Kunbar, a 20 year old Israeli Arab from East Jerusalem and Jafar Tawil, a 20 year old Israeli Arab from Beit Safafa, owe much of their success to the dedication of a very special teacher. Mahmoud Qaraeen, a physical education teacher at the El Salam special education school in Beit Safafa, noticed that Kunbar and Tawil had excellent athletic skills. He encouraged them to train twice a week at the Israel Tennis Center in Jerusalem. They worked with many coaches and they competed in tournaments. They eventually began training at the Wingate Institute, Israel’s national center for physical education and sport.

Kunbar, Tawil, Gevandschnaide and Segal began playing together at the Wingate Institute’s training camp. Some may wonder how two Hebrew speakers and two Arabic speakers, all with special needs, would be able to communicate? “Communication has been one of the main challenges for these athletes, as their mental disabilities are at different levels, said Shaya Azar, director of the ITC in Ashkelon and coordinator of the Special Olympics tennis program. Tawil speaks Arabic, but he cannot read or write in Arabic and he does not speak Hebrew. Kunbar, who communicates on a higher level, often functions as a translator between Tawil and the coaches. Despite some communication difficulties and their cognitive challenges, the four athletes have a very special relationship. Segal notes, I’m good friends with Muhammad and Jafar and love them and love joking with them. Similarly, Tawil adds, I have a great relationship with Elad and Tamir. I love playing tennis and I hope to be a good player and to be among the world’s best. The men simply enjoy playing tennis.

In May, 44 players competed to represent Israel at the World Special Olympics event. The special foursome was chosen to represent Israel in Athens. “They are a great bunch of young men that enjoy every second they can spend on the court. They appreciate the (Israel Tennis) Center and they appreciate the coaches and the efforts of their school,” said Ilan Maman, the director of ITC-Jerusalem.

The Israel Tennis Centers have always prided themselves on their inclusion of athletes, regardless of religion, mother tongue or ability. They have a range of programs for people with developmental challenges such as autism, hearing impairments, ADHD and for children in wheelchairs. In addition, there is a link on the ITC website for, Arab Jewish Coexistence, noting that, We believe sport is a powerful tool for promoting tolerance, developing good, productive relationships and ultimately peaceful coexistence. According to Yoni Yair, Israeli Development Associate for Israel Children’s Centers (the American organization that supports ITC), Our coexistence programs teach kids how to respect one another, how to appreciate different beliefs and cultures, how to listen and how to just have fun on the court. We need to understand that we are human beings who can live together in a peaceful way. By coming together on the tennis court, I feel it’s a beautiful vehicle to achieve our dream of making a huge impact on the future of the kids. Step-by-step, things will change.

Many take great pride in the accomplishments of the Special Olympic tennis players and their medals at the Athens games. At press time, the Israeli doubles team of Elad and Muhammad and the other doubles team of Tamir and Jafar, each won bronze medals! They were also likely to be medal winners in singles.

However, the real victory for Israel’s tennis players is on the court of coexistence. As Azar wisely states, This shows that everyone is equal and sends a message of coexistence. It is important that both sides understand that there is room for cooperation, especially when such athletes are involved. You can build something with them and I’m sure that they are our best ambassadors. Indeed, these special athletes have a lot to teach Israel and the world.



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Once upon a time, Jewish summer camp was a place for beautiful Shabbat and Havdalah services, s’mores around a campfire, Shabbat-o-grams, and letters from home. Camps nowadays are all of this and more! You will be hard-pressed to find a summer camp without at least one climbing tower, outdoor adventures which include rappelling and cave exploration, experts coming for several days to teach everything from a capella singing to basketball to pastry baking. At my camp, Camp Ramah in New England, campers even have the opportunity to learn from an artist experienced in duct tape art!

And all camps have found creative ways to incorporate technology in to their daily operation. I remember “purists” ten years ago objecting to our wiring the camp for the internet. Now, security enabled wifi access points allow our 40 Israeli delegation members, our 20 Eastern European kitchen workers, and the other 140 staff members to be in touch with family, friends and the outside world.

We successfully walk a fine line: we do not allow campers to bring IPhones and other electronic gadgets to camp, but we use technology to communicate with camp families and to simplify their lives. Families register online, they send emails to their children which get printed out and delivered daily to their bunks. The director sends out a weekly d’var torah and updates from camp—with a spotlight on several notable events of the week. Families daily check the photo gallery to see pictures of their children—nicely arranged by division, and parents are informed of daily highlights by going to the camp blog. Today alone features news of the Amitzim (special needs program) talent show, the Machon etgar (15 year olds hiking and canoeing trip), the camp wide Six Flags trip, and the 14 year olds production in Hebrew of Alice in Wonderland.

Yes, technology in a Jewish summer camp has its limitations: rain storms bring the internet down, families come to expect more communication than we can offer, and more transparency leads to the occasional comment about: why is my son not smiling? (and the follow up, “doesn’t’ he have any friends?) Why is my daughter not in the bunk photo? (she was in the bathroom) or Why is my son (in the special needs camping program) putting tefillin on his left arm?—he is a lefty!

I’d like to think that Jewish summer camps will continue to find creative ways to use technology. Perhaps we will build on the already wonderful use nowadays–posting photos and blog entries, to the provision of year round on-line learning, video chatting on Jewish topics, discussion boards for parents, and more! Technology is empowering and has the potential to play a important role—year round—in the lives of Jewish summer camps.

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Read about the recent Ramah Galil Bike Ride, posted online at the CT Jewish Ledger website.

It’s not too late to sign up for the Tour De Shuls, this Sunday in West Hartford. Come ride 20, 35 or 50 miles, or walk/run//bike 5 or 10 km. The Connecticut Valley Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs is organizing the ride. All profits go to the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England.

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