Video Of The Week - Special Needs Youngsters Absorbed in the IDF - https://tinyurl.com/y276fpnu
Most Israeli bands and performers would be happy to land a few gigs a month, but how many have clocked 500 performances in the past 14 months? Earlier this week, the Special in Uniform (SIU) Band of the Israel Defense Forces rocked the popular Zappa Club in Tel Aviv with their 500th performance in less than two years.
The band, whose members are IDF soldiers with special needs, took to the stage of the prestigious entertainment venue had the audience on its feet.
Backstage, Adi Yehuda, 21, one of the lead SIU band singers, told how the rigorous schedule of rehearsals and performances enhances her life. “Being part of the band has made me the best version of myself,“ she said.
“I feel comfortable on the stage, it feels like home to me. I love the
music, the stage, the friends in the band,” she added. “I’m so grateful to be
in uniform and to have performed for the president, the prime minister, the
chief of staff, and to represent Israel to audiences abroad,” she added. But the main motivator for Adi when she gets
up to perform is to demonstrate that “we are not shy about our disabilities.
This is us and we want to be in the army.”
That’s one of the major goals of the SIU program that has been supported by JNF-USA since 2014. The band is one component of a wide program to integrate young adults with disabilities into the IDF and into Israeli society. Today the program has 950 participants serving in units all over Israel.
While the average Israeli 16-year-old gets a call-up notice and goes through a process of being assessed and assigned to an army unit, students in special needs programs are automatically refused.
“SIU works with individual kids to find their strengths and together with social workers and psychologists, we make sure they have a place in the army,” Attia explained.
High-functioning students with Asperger’s syndrome may find themselves analyzing maps or becoming experts in counting the multitude of components that make up the Iron Dome Defense system, while those with lesser abilities will be assigned to necessary work on the base in maintenance or in the kitchen. Attia maintains that the greatest barrier to the integration of people with disabilities is awareness on the part of regular soldiers. “The goal of this band is to increase awareness,” he said.
All young people love music, and when the band gets up and performs at a professional level, the regular soldiers admire them and see them as people they can respect and bring into their social circles, Attia explained. Attia’s dedication to the integration of people with disabilities stems from a profound personal experience. After an illustrious IDF career, Attia suffered a serious injury in 2006 and was hospitalized for a lengthy period, becoming despondent. The only person who was able to relate to him and pull him out of the depths was a young woman with Down syndrome. “In the hospital, I vowed to dedicate myself to people with special needs,” he said.
Eliyahu Natan is the father of Liya, 20, who has Williams syndrome, which is often marked by some physical deficiencies and learning problems, but also high sociability and outgoing personality traits. “She’s a natural performer because of her syndrome,” Natan told JNS, “so now her whole life is music.”
Yoram Porat, another parent of a band member, shares Natan’s sentiments. Porat’s goal is to “show everyone that special needs people are different but able.” His daughter, Noa, has been exposed to people, places and experiences that have made her more independent and given her self-confidence, he said.
Jewish National Fund-USA’s Disabilities Task Force chair Gary Kushner praised the band for their tenacity. “Reaching their 500th performance is a remarkable achievement for our Special in Uniform band,” he said. “Their musical journey serves as an inspiration to us all as they continue to break barriers and challenge preconceived notions about what is possible. Through their passion, talent and unwavering dedication, they have proven that disability is never a limitation when given the opportunity to shine.”
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