Prior to my first visit to Shutaf’s afterschool program I was warned that most of the kids would speak little to no English, however with two months of ulpan under my belt, I was confident that I would be able to communicate with at least some of them. Boy was I wrong! When I arrived at the program,…
Shutaf is a family. I’ve seen it in action each and every day that I come into my internship. My name is Jenny Kaufman and I have been interning at Shutaf for the past four weeks or so. I came to Israel on a program called Onward Israel, which partnered with the overnight camp that I am…
My dad was ahead of his time. He chose to become a vegetarian in the 1930′s, no doubt influenced by Harav Kook’s philosophy of vegetarianism as an ethical way of life. My dad believed that being mindful of what we eat together with daily exercise was the path to a healthy body, mind and…
I’m the mother of a 17 1/2 year old girl with special needs. As I watch Adina’s peers without disabilities graduate from high school this month, going on to mechina or the army, my heart aches. What future awaits my daughter? She has another 3 years to go in the Israeli special education system. And…
February is Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month, a time when Jews around the world come together publicly to raise awareness and support for people with disabilities and their families. In Israel as well as worldwide, families and children are isolated and marginalized by disability; in their synagogues, schools, neighborhoods and workplaces. Fear, inadequate education, as well…
Camp Shutaf, an informal education program, fills a niche for children with special needs. Beth Steinberg moved to Jerusalem from Brooklyn with her husband and three sons in 2006. She knew she’d have to fight an uphill battle for her youngest, Akiva, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth. Education for children with special…
The original Op-ed appeared on March 27th, 2013 at 18:33 in the “Israel Opinion” section of Ynetnews.com. By Beth Steinberg, Miriam Avraham. JTA editor’s pick on March 29th. Translated into Hebrew on Haaretz. Ministers must show they believe in the right of people with disabilities to excellent services, dignified lives Listen up, Bibi, Yair, Shai, and Naftali.…
In this soul searching season, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ve changed my attitude towards parenting when it comes to Adina. For so many years – about 15 – I worked tirelessly to get her every possible therapy, work with her at home on building her skills and for a while I was…
Earlier this morning, I walked Adina over to our first day of Shutaf Summer Camp at the Kiryat Moriah campus – a short 10 minute walk from our house. I reminded myself that all the hard work I put in to make Shutaf a reality for Adina and other kids with special needs – it’s…
My first introduction to Shutaf came when Beth Steinberg sat on a panel and for a mere 15 minutes talked about the organization’s inclusive programming for kids with special needs. With warm gestures and wide eyes, Beth really captivated my class of mainly females, who after the panel, all waited like hungry dogs to get…
