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