Israeli Pilots Visit Special Needs Center, L.A. Federation Receives “Groundbreaking” Grant

Last month, in honor of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), Israeli Air Force pilots visited the Shalva National Center in Jerusalem to work with children with disabilities.

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Ryan Torok

March 3, 2023

Israeli Major General (res.) Amikam Norkin visits the Shalva National Center in Jerusalem, which serves children living with disabilities and their families. Courtesy of Shalva National Center

“Our pilots were deeply touched, and they connected on a profound level to the children through their shared activities,” Israeli Major General (res.) Amikam Norkin, one of the pilots who visited the center, said. “At the end of the visit, we invited all the children to visit us on Palmachim Airbase where they met with the military personnel.”

Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, is one of Israel’s largest centers for people with disabilities. Kalman and Malkie Samuels founded the non-profit in 1990. Their belief is that families of children with disabilities require a multilayered support system and warm community to help them cope with the challenges.

Upon its inception, the organization operated out of a modest Jerusalem rental apartment. Today, Shalva is housed in a large, multifaceted facility and offers a broad range of services for thousands of people, from infants to adults, with disabilities.

Coinciding with Jewish Disability Awareness Month, Israeli air force pilots spent a heartwarming day at the Shalva National Center in Jerusalem and enjoyed a range of fun, team-building activities. Courtesy of Shalva National Center

During its annual gala dinner in New York on March 2, Shalva spotlighted Norkin, whose younger brother identifies as having a disability.

His brother’s connection with the disability community “is definitely part of what fortified my awareness, understanding and resolve regarding the national need to help and strengthen families struggling with challenges that are difficult for us to fathom,” the Israeli air force pilot said. “As a leader, it was so important to me to inculcate those under my command with the values of humanity, compassion, and genuinely connecting to the people that we’re protecting — and this includes all the people whose lives we’re safeguarding.”

Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles missions bring elected officials, including members of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, to Israel. Courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has entered into the largest philanthropic partnership in its history by securing a nearly $4 million grant over the next three years from the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation.

According to the Federation, “the scale and depth of this partnership emerged after months of close work together to explore ways for The Glazer Foundation and the Federation to jointly strengthen the place of the Jewish community in the broader civic community of Los Angeles.”

“Our partnership with The Glazer Foundation is groundbreaking,” L.A. Federation President and CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said. “This grant represents a new moment for Jewish philanthropy in Los Angeles that we believe will inspire other Los Angeles foundations and philanthropists to join in our trailblazing effort.”

The Federation described the grant as “the most comprehensive and far-reaching collaboration the Federation has ever entered into with a funding partner.”

Joanna Mendelson, senior vice president of community engagement at the Federation, said it will “greatly impact” the work of the Federation’s Engaging our Community initiative, one of the Federation’s three core pillars.

Recent Jewish Federation supported programs include “Baraye Iran,” an-in-person panel discussion that elevated the international concerns facing Iranian women. Courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

The funds, according to Federation leadership, will support Federation’s young adults programming, specifically it NuRoots program; strengthen its Jewish community relations efforts; and provide homecare assistance for the rapidly aging Holocaust survivors population in Los Angeles.

“This is work we have not done to this level, and the work we are about to embark on is so critical to helping transform our current landscape,” Mendelson said.

Jeffrey Neiman, vice president and general counsel at the Glazer Foundation, said the multiyear, multimillion-dollar grant aligned with the foundation’s mission of supporting the vitality and enrichment of Jewish communities in Israel, Los Angeles and throughout the world.

“We are excited by this new partnership with the Federation,” Neiman said. “Ensuring that the core institutions of the Jewish community can support the needs of its constituencies are of critical importance. We feel confident that this partnership will not only produce that outcome, but also build on the vision we share with the Federation — that the Los Angeles Jewish community remains a vibrant, interconnected community within the broader social fabric of Los Angeles.”