600 students visited Israel in January on the Hillel Birthright Program. The 'Zedek' component of Birthright offers participants the chance to 'meet real people' and "give something back to Israeli society"- in addition to the rest of the program which includes touring, travelling from North to South and listening to guest speakers.

On a windy January day, 40 students from Connecticut- based Universities, stepped off their tour bus and entered into the world of Beit Uri-home for the developmentally disabled in Afula -Connecticut's Partnership 2000 city. It was a sad day, as Daphna Regev, a 33 year resident of the home had passed away suddenly that morning and residents and staff were still coming to terms with the loss of one of their close-knit community.

Together with Beit Uri residents, the students walked to the nearby forest and park, cleaning up debris on the way and stopping to plant bunches of tulips together, in memory of Daphna. Since many of the residents have limited speech and most of the students were only able to stutter just a few words in hebrew, communication was based on hand-holding, working together and hugging……..

"I will not forget how many hands I held in that short visit, how many of these friends touched me without ever intending such impact," Daniel Greenbaum, Oberlin College.

"The place (Beit Uri) and the people remind us of the importance of kindness and caring for others, even when we are in the midst of struggle, strife, and conflict with forces outside of our control. It is through examples such as the selfless work and dedication of the staff at Beit Uri that provide evidence for the good will of Israeli's toward their fellow man." Andrew Frishman, Brown College.

Amongst the participants were several students from Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv. Yael Zahavi wrote "we arrived at Beit Uri and were accepted in about two minutes. The ice didn't melt or break-it just vanished right away. It's somewhat ironic that we can so freely communicate with people who, by definition, have communication problems.
A touching moment was when one of the children grabbed my hand, took me to the back yard and said "Come on, I want to show you a new world". his new world is the back yard of "Beit Uri".

According to Daniel Gale from Oberlin College the visit to Beit Uri "was one of the most challenging and memorable experiences of the whole Birthright trip."

  Adar 5762 - March 2002