Chen Orpaz (left) with IDF Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ariel Almog, founder of the JNF-supported ‘Special in Uniform’ program. Photo: Courtesy of Jewish National Fund.

JNS.org – The Jewish National Fund (JNF) nonprofit is hosting 60 inclusion-related events throughout Israel during February’s Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month, with the stated goal of “ensuring that no member of Israeli society is left behind.”

“Many people with physical, emotional, and developmental disabilities in Israel feel alienated from their communities, sometimes the entire family feels marginalized, complicating an already challenging life,” JNF Task Force on Disabilities Director Yossi Kahana, whose son has autism, said in a statement. “At Jewish National Fund, we open the doors to acceptance and inclusion and are we changing lives for thousands of children and their families every day.”

JNF’s month-long slate of programming features representatives from the organization’s partners on year-long initiatives that assist Israelis with disabilities, including ALEH Negev-Nahalat Eran, a rehabilitative village in the Negev; the LOTEM-Making Nature Accessible initiative, which brings people with special needs closer to nature through outdoor activities; the Red Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center at Kibbutz Grofit, which provides horseback riding therapy; and Special in Uniform, a program that works to integrate youths with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces.

Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month coincides with North American Inclusion Month each February.