Dear Friends,
I hope you are enjoying your summer. We all know about the debate here in Israel, and I will just share one thing. Just like the IDF, our soldiers come from every background, left and right, religious and secular, Jewish, Druze, and Muslim. We have fought together, bled together, cried together, and now heal together. We have different religions, world views, and politics. What binds us together is something fundamental we learned in our IDF service: our commitment to each other is stronger than anything else. This commitment nurtures and enables our BFL magic.
On that note, we had an incredible experience two weeks ago with a group of Ukrainian soldiers who were injured fighting in the war with Russia. We had the privilege of hosting them at the Beit Achim and sharing our model with them. It goes without saying that we will do everything in our power to be a resource to them as they think about forming a similar organization in their home country.
One of our most exciting projects this summer is a new sports project for our members who are amputees. While many of our soldiers now have prosthetics they have not had the opportunity to cycle or do other sports with their new prosthetics. We recently brought together these BFL members with special trainers to start a unique cycling project together. Learning to cycle with a prosthetic is a complex and often difficult/painful learning process but our members will never quit. I look forward to sharing photos of their first long ride together!
We recently had a PTSD healing trek for our members in Greece. In a quiet environment far from their daily triggers, our soldiers learned to face their challenges with vulnerability and trust. The photo below is just a small example of how they learned to realize that they are no longer alone, and they can again trust their team members who literally have their back.
Far from lastly, we just finished an incredible delegation to Toronto. One of the highlights was visiting a summer camp where hundreds of Jewish kids surrounded them, singing and dancing together. It was a great reminder of the unbreakable bond between our soldiers and our amazing Jewish communities in the diaspora.
There is so much more to share but I will just say this. Thank you. Thank you for caring and being part of this amazing movement we call BFL.
Shabbat Shalom from Israel,
Yaniv