A Sad Month
This has been a difficult month for our community. During the war the dear couple and Center members Ilana and Yaron Moshe were tragically killed in a missile attack from Iran. And now, in the last few weeks, we lost two more dear members of our community to natural causes. Dani Shachar, a good friend of former head coach Baruch Hagai since the polio days, was a longtime athlete and coach at The Center. He was one of the pillars of the basketball team in the 1960s and 70s and he was a kind and dedicated person.
Michael Boiko, member of the sports center, and the brother in law of boccia assistant coach Jacky, passed away suddenly last week, in his 40s. He played wheelchair basketball from a young age and was part of the competitive wheelchair basketball program. Even once he visited less frequently, he remained a beloved member of The Center’s community. His passing is a reminder of how fragile life is, especially for people with disabilities.
May Dani and Michael’s memories be a blessing and may their families find comfort in the memories of the good people they were.
From a state of war to routine
Returning to routine — called shigra in Israel — is never simple after a period like this past war with Iran. But for many of our staff, athletes, and volunteers, the war was difficult in ways that one might not imagine: for example, one of our volunteers had to sleep in an armchair throughout the war so that despite his disability he could reach his building’s shelter in time. Some people had to relocate so they would be safe during those weeks. And still others sat at home alone most of the time for fear of being caught outside by a siren.
For so many it is a huge relief to get back to The Center just to move and be with friends.
Tal Kupershtein at last year’s Remembrance Day ceremony
Originally planned for this week, it was impossible to plan during the war, and so our torch lighting ceremony for Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut was cancelled a few weeks ago. This is a long-standing tradition and is an opportunity to honor members of our community, highlight the amazing reach of our work, as well as to say thank you to people who make the world a better place for people with disabilities.
It’s such a beautiful tradition and it is just one more unfortunate outcome of the on-and-off state of war that we are living in, but seeing a picture from last year’s ceremony, of Tal Kupershtein talking about his son Bar who was still in a Gaza tunnel then, and would be for another few months after that, and knowing that he and all the other hostages are home, makes it almost feel OK.
The theme of this year’s ceremony was going to be “people behind the scenes” and Tal was going to light yet again, this time with Bar by his side.
Operations
The Center reopened Thursday, March 27, with hours returning to normal almost immediately. Programs have been resuming gradually: the gan reopened last week on Tuesday, for the first time in over six weeks besides one day it was open during the war, and the children’s program returned this week.
After paying our staff their usual salaries in March, we had to make the difficult decision to place the majority of staff on unpaid leave beginning April 1st, covered by the government, in order to sustain operations through a period with no income from Israel. Because the leave period fell during Pesach, the timing worked out — staff were compensated and able to observe the holiday, and we returned to work right after the holiday. The ceasefire and reopening followed quickly, and we were glad to bring everyone back.
Still the historically low exchange rate makes our ongoing operations much more expensive.
Athletes
We have many upcoming international tournaments we are hoping our athletes will be able to attend without issue, including some big ones which our athletes are preparing hard for, like: the World Boccia Cup next week, the wheelchair rugby European Championship Division B (with hopes of going back up to Division A) in May and the wheelchair tennis World Team Cup also in May.
Para table tennis player Yehonatan Levi has reached number 16 in the world after a strong recent tournament in which he won both singles and doubles. He and his coach and father Idan have been competing abroad since March 9, including over Passover — and one Spanish town went so far as to open a large table tennis hall exclusively for their training.
Maayan Zikri and Sergei Lysov have resumed their international circuit in Asia after being unable to travel during most of the war. Sergei won doubles with his Chinese partner in South Korea and played a grueling three-hour singles match against a UK opponent.
Badminton player Roni Kesten succeeded in leaving the country and won her first international medal, a bronze in the Czech Open Para Badminton Championships.
Boccia player Ariel Vexler’s registration for a tournament in Finland in May was cancelled when the organizers weren’t flexible in regards to the fact that it was unclear if Ariel would be able to make it because of the war with Iran.
As we head into this week of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut, we carry a full heart — of loss, of memory, and of quiet pride.
We will remember those we lost.
We will honor them in the way we know how — by continuing, by showing up, by building something meaningful together.
And then, as we always do, we will take a step forward.
We hope for quieter days ahead.
For a routine that feels normal again.
For a year in which our updates can be about sport, and nothing else.
Wishing you all a meaningful Memorial Day and a peaceful, hopeful Independence Day.
Boaz Kramer, Israel Executive Director