First Class

For the disabled,
Birthright trips are
extra special.

Gil Shefler
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Neli , York

Now in Downtown Birmingham

p

amela Saeks thought her
daughter Karly, who has
Asperger's syndrome, would
never be able to go on Birthright Israel,
the program that offers young diaspora
Jews free trips to Israel.
"For years, she has been so frus-
trated that she can't be like other kids
and go on an organized trip to Israel':
Saeks said.
But in December, Karly will embark
on a 10-day Birthright trip tailored for
individuals with Asperger's, a form of
high-functioning autism. The trip will
take her from the shores of the Dead
Sea to the plateau of the Golan Heights.
The trip is organized in partnership
with Shorashim, an organization aimed
at strengthening ties between the dias-
pora and Israel, and Koach, the college
outreach group of the Conservative
movement.
It will be the fourth Birthright trip
to meet the needs of people with
Asperger's.
It is one of a number of specially
tailored Birthright programs for those
with disabilities. Birthright, which has
brought some 220,000 Jews aged 18
to 26 to Israel since its inception in
2000, also runs trips for the hearing
impaired, the developmentally disabled
and wheelchair users, and has had one
trip for blind participants.
By the end of 2009, at least 28 groups
of people with special needs will have
traveled to Israel on Birthright since
2003.
The Birthright trips for the disabled
visit all the major sites of a typical trip,
but changes are made to suit the par-
ticipants' unique needs.
At Masada, they do not ascend to the
ancient citadel via the serpentine trail.
Instead, they tour the Roman ramparts
at the bottom of the hill and take the
cable car to the top.
At Yad Vashem, the Holocaust muse-
um in Jerusalem, organizers highlight
the persecution by the Nazis of people
with disabilities. And Asperger's trips
hold discussions about the Nazis' per-
secution of Eastern European Jewry in
classrooms located next to the museum

First Class on page 30

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December 10 • 2009

29