World
PUBLISHER'S LETTER
Magic's Healing Powers
Arthur M.
Horwitz
Jewish
Renaissance
Media
•
Jerusalem
the air. Again, the boy reaches for
the bubbles, providing therapy
for his arms and a smile on an
otherwise ravaged face. The
mother stares, silently, only feet
away from "M's" mother.
In this case, there is no sibling
participating. "K was playing
with matches and burned down
his family's apartment. His
younger brother died in the
blaze.
.■■
im
Michael the
Clown is not a mem-
Clown
ber of Israel's Knesset.
He isn't asked whether his poli-
tics lean toward Likud, Labor
or Kadima. His views on
Israel'S unilateral withdrawal
from Gaza, to separate Israelis ,
from Palestinians, are not
solicited.
In a region where people,
religion' and geography are
intertwined, physical barriers
enhance security for Israelis
and reshape the demographic
equation so Jews remain a
majority in their own country.
The "C" word, coexistence, which
reached its high-water mark via
the Oslo Peace Accords, sits atop
the dung heap as one more
romantic, dance-the-hora-
around-the-campfire concept
that fails in the face of homicide
bombings and inept, spineless
Palestinian political leadership.
So how do you explain Magic
Michael the Clown and the mira-
cle work he does at ALYN
Hospital in Jerusalem? His belt
contains balloons, balls and bub-
Magic Michael blows bubbles as a young physiotherapy patient, who suffered third-
degree burns as a result of a domestic accident, tries to catch them despite the pain.
bles, not bullets. His clientele are
children who are referred to
Israel's only pediatric multi-dis-
ciplinary rehabilitation center.
On a recent morning at ALYN,
Magic Michael is working hand-
in-hand with a physiotherapist,
coaxing a young boy,"M," to
walk a balance beam while swat-
ting balloons the clown tosses in
his direction. Magic Michael
then engages the boy in some
fencing, with each using long,
slender balloons as swords. The
boy's older brother can't contain
himself and jumps in to play,
too. Meanwhile, the boy's moth-
er, wrapped from head to toe in
modest garb, watches silently,
but with appreciative eyes.
"M" was in the wrong place at
the wrong time. A homicide
bomber from Gaza, intending to
explode himself in the midst of
Israeli soldiers guarding an
entry point into Israel, detonated
prematurely. The boy, a Muslim
Gaza resident, was in a coma for
three weeks before awakening
with a host of physical and men-
tal disabilities. He was referred
to ALYN. Only Magic Michael the
Clown can coax the boy into
doing his physical therapy. As
Magic Michael tosses one more
balloon into the air, the fringes
from his prayer shawl dangle by
the clown's side.
In the same room, a 4-year-
old boy, "A;' enters with his
mother. The woman is covered
almost head to toe in modest,
Orthodox garb. The boy is cov-
ered almost head to toe in white
gauze bandages. The exposed
part of the boy's face is beet red
and blotchy. One of his arms is
set at almost a 90-degree angle.
A physiotherapist takes a small
snake from a cage and drapes it
around "Ns" shoulders. The boy
reaches upward to grasp it.
Then, Magic Michael the Clown
comes over, blowing bubbles into
314
Detroit Wheels
In another part of the ALYN
facility, Naomi Gefen is sur-
rounded by wheelchairs of dif-
ferent shapes and sizes. Almost
all are customized to minimize
the handicaps of its young users.
When we are introduced, she
rushes off, emerging moments
later with "the Detroit wheel-
chair."
The specially outfitted wheel-
chair accompanied Federation's
recent Family Miracle Mission to
Israel from Detroit, stowed in the
cargo hold froin Detroit Metro
Airport to Ben-Gurion Interna-
tional Airport outside Tel Aviv.
ALYN on page 26
January 19 • 2006
25