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14Triendship Circle's first family trip to Lsrael
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The Suris family rafting on
the Jordan River: Debby
and Eric and daughter
Carlie, with grandfather
Marvin Berman at the helm
and Israeli volunteer Fraida
Lurie of Jerusalem.

Noah Tighe at the Western
Wall.

The Tighe family: parents Pat and Renee in the back, with kids
Hannah and Noah in front of them, and Friendship Circle teen

Carlie Suris, 13, helps keep her grandfather, Marvin Berman, cool in

Israel.

volunteer Jacqueline Kraft.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

"They did an incredible job, from a raft-
ing ride on the Jordan River with an acces-
sible beach to finding a route without stairs
through the Old City. Where the Israelis
are lacking in accessibility, they make up
for it with heart:' said Tzvi Schectman,
describing an excursion to Hebron where
Carlie Sufis, 13, of Bloomfield Hills, who
uses a wheelchair, found herself at an
impasse at the bottom of an inaccessible
staircase. A group of nearby Israeli soldiers
came to the rescue. "They lifted the wheel-
chair like it was a feather:'
For Carlie's family, the trip was a multi-
generational experience that included her
parents, Debby and Eric Suris, and Debby's
father, Marvin Berman.
Berman was thrilled watching the kids

46 September 17 • 2015

bond with each other, sitting together dur-
ing meals and bus rides even though many
of them were previously unacquainted.
"This was the real miracle, the kids:'
said Berman, who described the group as
"one big family:'
While former Detroiter Renee Tighe,
now of North Carolina, had been to Israel
previously, it was the first trip for her hus-
band, Pat, and their two children, Hannah,
14, and Noah, 12, who has special needs.
At first, Tighe was concerned about how
Noah would behave at the Western Wall,
which the group visited three times.
"He was so energized and inspired:' said
Tighe, who was delighted to see Noah join
the dancing during a Friday night visit to
the Wall, when thousands of people gather
to celebrate Shabbat. "Now he wants to
go to shul ... and Hannah wants to light

Shabbos candles every week"
While Noah had a few rough moments,
Tighe said travelling with the Friendship
Circle group made those times easier than
they would have been with a group of neu-
rotypical children.
"I knew we weren't alone," she said.
"There was true compassion — hugs,
someone offered him headphones. Other
times, it was another child, and I had com-
passion for them:'
In addition to sightseeing, the itinerary
included a variety of kid-friendly activi-
ties such as camel- and horseback-riding,
nature walks, sifting through an archeolog-
ical site, chocolate-making, challah baking,
boat rides and a drum circle on the Sea of
Galilee. During a get-together with mem-
bers of Shutaf, an Israeli inclusion program
for children and teens with special needs,

the kids participated in a scavenger hunt
while the parents talked to the directors of
the program.
A favorite outing was the Colel Chabad
Pantry Packers warehouse, where the
group volunteered to prepare food pack-
ages for distribution to needy families and
individuals throughout Israel.
The universal highlight of the trip
occurred on the last night, when the group
hosted a barbecue for IDF combat troops
at their military base near the Syrian bor-
der.
"You could hear gunfire and explosives
while the soldiers danced with the kids
held high on their shoulders:' said Tzvi
Schectman, who said the goal is to do a
similar trip every two years. "It exceeded
all our expectations, especially the spiritual
connection; it wasn't just a tour:'

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