metro

Fit For Service

IDF officer and local
attorney fight to
enlist the disabled
in military service.

Richard Bernstein and IDF
Maj. Shaked cycling in last
year's Israman triathalon

ES.

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22

October 6 • 2011

Don Cohen
Contributing Writer

I

sraeli military commanders are
known for leading their troops into
battle. And that is exactly what Maj.
Shaked (last name withheld), an Israeli
Air Force pilot for 13 years, is doing to
help disabled Israeli youth put on an
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) uniform and
serve their country.
Shaked was in Michigan recently to see
his friend, attorney Richard Bernstein of
Bloomfield Hills. Together they are bringing
attention and working to open doors for
disabled Israelis and Americans who want
to serve in their respective armed forces.
Shaked and Bernstein met in New York
in July 2010 at a One Family Fund lun-
cheon to help that organization's mission
to aid Israeli terrorism victims. Shaked
had been volunteering for years with an
Israeli organization, Accessibility Israel,
working to integrate disabled Israeli youth
into Israeli society
"These are amazing kids, and
Accessibility Israel brings in guys not
professionally trained to work with the
disabled': Shaked says. "It gives the kids
a feeling that we are all equals among
equals."
But when they turn 18, they find they
are not equal because, Shaked says, the
disabled are automatically rejected for
service.
"The system is too big and it's a combi-
nation of bureaucracy and efficiency,' he
says. "If you want to serve you have to find
a way in. I help, but I'm not their way in; it
starts with them."

Identifying Strengths
Shaked helps the kids to identify and sell
their strengths and professional abilities.
While it is about the kids, it's also about
the IDE
"We have to show that bringing in
someone will improve the unit's opera-
tional result," he says.
Ron is a perfect example. While his
movement is restricted by a cartilage dis-

ease, he is fluent in four languages and has
a keen mind.
"He called me crying, trying to find his
way inside': Shaked recalls. Today Ron
serves on the Air Force Foreign Affairs
desk dealing with northern European
countries. "He really knows the mentality
of these countries. He does a great job.
"Sometimes, the military needs your
hands and your head, not your legs': he says.
Shaked brought 19-year-old Omer into
his own unit. Omer is visually impaired
and almost deaf, but his parents had
always ensured that he was mainstreamed.
"Your first impression is this kid can't
do a lot, but I decided to take the chal-
lenge': Shaked says. "He was happy and
proud each day, and volunteered to do
whatever was necessary. He inspired those
around him and taught them to be more
patient and more tolerant. It made the
whole unit stronger."
Richard Bernstein also is no stranger
to fighting for the rights of the disabled.
Bright, energetic and blind, with a law
degree from Northwestern University,
he has successfully won cases in Detroit
and West Bloomfield for accessibility and
safety for the disabled. He an activist, but
also an athlete, something he also has in
common with Shaked.

Both Athletes
Last year, Bernstein was the first blind
competitor in Israman, an Israeli event
ranked among the world's top 10 most
challenging long-distance triathlon.
Bernstein, who competed in an
Ironman competition in 2008 and has
run in more than a dozen marathons,
competed with Shaked, who guided him
along the grueling paths he can't see.
Bernstein completed the half-Israman
course in Eilat this January, and the two
were joking about next year's event. The
half course still meant swimming for
more than a mile, biking for 56 miles,
and running more than 20 miles.
"It was unbelievably brutal: Bernstein
says of the heat, the hills and the surging
waves in the Red Sea, "but I was doing it

for a much bigger cause than just the fin-
ish line.
"It was the first time a blind person had
done it, and it developed an unbelievable
excitement in Israel': he says. "Shaked used
it to showcase the issue of disability in the
armed forces. It was very meaningful."
Since then Shaked has guided Bernstein
in the Jerusalem marathon.
"Usually I would use four or five people
to assist me in a marathon, but Shaked did
it all himself,' he said. "He researched the
course and had a flight plan. He did it the
way a pilot would do it, judging distances,
heights and gradients. He's the gift that
keeps on giving, and I'm amazed."
Shaked smiles, but is soon back to
business.
"If he is doing this, and [most people
are] not',' he says, "than who is to say who
is healthy and who is not?" Shaked esti-
mates there are about 1,300 disabled sol-
diers currently serving in the IDF, making
important contributions.
Bernstein says he wanted to use his
law degree to become a Judge Advocate
General (JAG) in the U.S. military, but
couldn't because "of regulations."
"I didn't meet the basic physical require-
ments," he says, referring to his blindness.
So when Shaked was in town, the two
went to Selfridge Air National Guard Base
near Mt. Clemens to meet with some
officers and discuss Shaked's experiences
and how the base might benefit from the
disabled.
"It won't be done by legislation, but
from the bottom up," Bernstein says.
"We'll work with officers to engage, excite
and inspire them about the idea. Some
are already wildly supportive."
Shaked hopes "the IDF will serve as a
model to change Israeli society" by mak-
ing it more accepting of the disabled. "We
can integrate, educate and inspire. We can
change the world, and get Israel a better
image."
Asked how likely this all is, Shaked
doesn't miss a beat.
"I'm a pretty determined guy:' he says
with a grin. L I

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