Recommended listening: “We Are a PTSD Nation”
Many of us have drawn the connection between what Asael Shabo went through at age 9, when terrorists broke into his home and killed his mother and three brothers, and what so many families went through on October 7, 2023. It makes his voice chillingly relevant.
Ilana and Yaron Moshe, HY”D
Last week we prepared our weekly war update and, after a short delay, we found out that Yaron and Ilana Moshe were killed when a missile hit their home. Suddenly the rest of the update felt completely irrelevant.
This is the Russian roulette life of people living in the center of Israel, and especially those with disabilities. Yaron wasn’t able to make it to the mamad (shelter) inside their apartment because of his progressive disability.
Yaron Moshe was a member of the Israel ParaSport Center for nearly 15 years. His wife Ilana was his devoted caregiver and was there with him all the time. Even now, with the dangers and the strict rules, they were at The Center almost every day leading up to the attack which so tragically took their lives. They were an integral part of our community, and so many of our staff are recalling schmoozing with them when seeing them almost every day at The Center.
We wish their family comfort during such a difficult time.
Read Boaz’s powerful letter to our community following the news of Yaron and Ilana’s deaths.
Last week’s update
For those of you who are our beloved die hard friends, you are welcome to read last week’s update here.
Close calls
There have been too many close calls this past week.
For example, shrapnel hit Ayelet Avraham’s apartment building. And yesterday, the moment Ayelet, who is head of social services, heard about a fall in a certain area of Petach Tikva, she knew to call the mother of one of our members. It turns out Ayelet figured out before the family themselves who were in their mamad, that shrapnel had indeed fallen right outside their building and had damaged their car. Too close for comfort, but thank God no one was injured.
Normalcy amidst the sounds of war
At the same time, we are doing everything we can to add as much normalcy as possible to our members’ days.
Only a certain number of people are allowed at The Center at any given time, so that everyone can fit in the shelters.
This past week, Asael shared that while the wheelchair basketball team was in the shelter at the Israel ParaSport Center during a siren, he could hear something fall and hit the ground. Soon after, we found out that the school next to The Center had been hit.
Still he comes every day. He shared that being able to come to The Center to train, exercise, and see his friends makes all the difference to him during these long and tiring days.
And for the many people who cannot come to The Center—whether because they are under 18 or for any of the other myriad reasons—our Zoom classes continue.
One that is really standing out is the children’s art class with Tami, focusing on therapeutic art—creating things that help calm them during sirens.
Our good news machine
We’re considering calling Guy Sasson our good news machine. He has reached #1 in quad doubles and has won yet another tournament in doubles with his trusty Dutch partner, Niels Vink.
Right now Guy has his eye on LA28. Don’t we all… Something nice to think about.
Cancellations galore
So many events have been cancelled or postponed including basketball and rugby games, national boccia and table tennis tournaments, and the swim championship scheduled for next week.
Caroline Tabib is now missing another international table tennis tournament after missing two already. Roni Kesten has also missed an international badminton tournament. Many times there are flights out with no clear plan for return and for some of our athletes that makes it impossible to leave.
The pool project
This week, the careful removal of the pool deck—which is also the ceiling of the machine room—began. This is a pivotal part of the project and needs to be done with extreme care so that the structure does not collapse and cause major damage.
Thank God for the shelters, which allow the workers to continue even during such intense times.