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FRIENDS OF ISRAEL DISABLED VETERANS BEIT HALOCHEM
Passover 2015 • 5775
“Going into Gaza Has Changed My Life Forever”
Dear Friend of FIDV,
Passover is a time to cherish our heritage, and the heroes who have fought so hard
to keep it alive. At our Seders, we tell our story as Jewish people, to our children
and grandchildren, to ensure that we remember me’dor le’dor, from generation to
generation. This story is alive today, and we are part of it.
Who are the heroic young soldiers who protect Israel every day? Let me tell you
about 20-year-old Reuven Magen, whose leg was seriously damaged in Gaza during
Operation Protective Edge. He is just one of the nearly 1,200 Israeli soldiers wounded
in that war; at least 500 of those warriors will face disability, and will need Beit
Halochem.
“I have learned many things,” Reuven says. “I now understand what my father Shlomo
has been going through since he was wounded in 1982 while serving in the First
Lebanon War…when a mortar … almost severed his head. I remember going to Beit
Halochem with him. I saw the other disabled veterans, the adults without legs, and it
was a little odd but not scary.”
Now it is Reuven’s turn to be part of the community at Beit Halochem. “There is a
Reuven Magen
lot of love …here at Beit Halochem – from the new as well as from the older, more
experienced, Zahal Disabled Veterans. We have all lived through a lot, all of us were
hurt. It is a powerful mutual experience. We have an understanding which goes far beyond words.”
As you prepare for your Passover Seder, we remember these brave veterans, both the newly wounded and the
old timers. Please take the time now to make a special Passover gift to FIDV – whether $54, $72, $180, $360 or
another amount – to show them that you care! You can donate now online at www.fidv.org.
When Reuven Rivlin, President of the State of Israel,
addressed a group of disabled veterans at a Beit
Halochem center recently, he mused: When the clouds
have dispersed and the bloodstains washed from the
streets, so begins your journey. This is the battle after
the war… one you fight with your injured body and …
aching soul. A battle to breathe, to get up, to stand, to eat unassisted, to speak, to read and write, to do up
laces and buttons, to hold a cup without it falling, to hold a child in your arms, to sleep one night in peace and
tranquility, free from nightmares and pain. This is a war of independence. This is your war.”
“I now understand what my father
Shlomo has been going through
since he was wounded in 1982...”
Because of these heroes, our heroes, there is an Israel for all of us. Their stories are our stories, too.
Each time you hear about another casualty in Israel, please know that Beit Halochem is always there to ease
the pain. With your help, we will be there to ease each step of the way. This Passover, please give with an open
heart at www.fidv.org. Their needs are our top priority.
With the assistance of good friends like you, our wounded heroes will know that we care, and that Beit
Halochem will help them heal, grow, and overcome the complex challenges of disability. Thank you.
Wishing you and yours a sweet Passover,
Michael A. Leichtling, Chair
Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans-Beit Halochem
Please remember FIDV in your will.