Unique Israel Trip Concludes for People With Special Needs

For the 26 young adults with special needs who traveled the Holy Land on a Taglit-birthright israel tour provided by Mayanot, what made the trip special was that it really wasn’t any different from what thousands of others have experienced over the years.

The pace may have been a bit slower, but the trip’s participants did it all, from hiking through the Tel Dan nature reserve in Israel’s north to celebrating Purim in Jerusalem. Organizers of the tour – which drew its travelers from North American branches of the Friendship Circle, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization that pairs teenage volunteers with children with special needs – say that the first-such trip to be provided by Mayanot is sure to be replicated in the future.

“It’s an important thing that people with special needs have the opportunity to go to Israel just like any other student,” said Rabbi Noach Pawliger, the trip’s tour leader. “It’s a very worthy assignment, a worthwhile endeavor.”

As a provider of birthright israel’s free trips to Jewish men and women aged 18-26, Mayanot specializes in bringing groups of college students to the Holy Land. Program coordinator Ita Levine explains that the 12 staff members and two volunteers who accompanied the Friendship Circle contingent made especially sure that the itinerary followed as close as possible the standard Mayanot offerings.

Article Continued (Chabad.org News)