Israelis with Disabilities Visit U.S. Peers at AHRC New York City

Shai Agai was fulfilling a fantasy. “My dream has been come to visit the United States of America,” the young man said. “I’ve seen a lot of Hollywood movies and it makes me want to come here. I like the big action movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Tom Cruise.” In anticipation of one day achieving his travel goal, Agai practiced his English by writing out vocabulary words 10 times in both English and his native Hebrew.

Agai is from Jerusalem and his dream came true through a trip he took with SHEKEL-Inclusion for People with Disabilities, a service provider for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in Israel. “We went to Canada and Niagara Falls and then came to New York. I want to stay here two more weeks!” he said.

Agai and his peers from SHEKEL were greeted with “Shalom!” from people with I/DD and staff members at AHRC New York City’s Adult Day Services at its Joseph T. Weingold Day Center in Elmhurst, Queens. Bonnie Astor, an AHRC NYC Art Consultant at the Center, coordinated the recent visit after fostering a relationship with SHEKEL over the past few months.

Building an Intiernational Bond

“A friend of mine, Lois tavsky, visits Israel several times a year, and on one of her visits she just happened upon SHEKEL,” Astor said. “We went over there together and did three different art workshops with them.” Astor added she was impressed by the level of inclusion and government support for people with I/DD she saw in Israel, adding that nearly all of the people she worked with at SHEKEL had day jobs, including some with the Israeli Defense Forces. “I told SHEKEL. ‘Now that I’ finished with this experience I’d love our people here to stay in touch,’” she said.

Astor and people receiving support at Weingold have been conducting WhatsApp/Skype conferences with SHEKEL members for several months. “When we found out they would be coming to New York City, we told them that we’d love to have them visit AHRC NYC at Weingold,” Astor said.

Art, Music and Dance

The Israeli guests enjoyed art, music and dance at the Weingold Center.

On the fifth floor, Jasper Lewis, Music Specialist, and musician Jonathan Negron invited anybody who wanted to sing to join them in a series of musical performances. Shannon Healey, a Dance Specialist, encouraged people to move their bodies to the music, especially as a person from SHEKEL hopped on the keyboard to play traditional Jewish songs such as “Hava Nagila” and “Hevenu Shalom Aleichem.”

On the first-floor art center, Astor worked with people to create custom copper etchings. She also pointed people in the direction of the digital art center, where Danny Groner was fascinated by a 3D printer. “It’s really exciting for me to see something like this here,” he said, explaining that the company he works for in Israel uses 3D printers to produce stents for medical applications. “I’m interested in how the printers are used industrially.”

Groner was excited to be joining his peers on a trip to North America. “We’ve been here for 10 days,” he said. “We flew into Toronto and spent a few days there. We were all over New York and Manhattan, literally everywhere. We went to Rockefeller Center and Central Park, which I have to say is very big.” Unlike some of his colleagues, Groner was already familiar with the language and customs in the U.S. “My mom is from Omaha, Nebraska. I don’t have American citizenship but so much about me is American.”

For Shani Aroch, a SHEKEL staff member, watching Groner, Agai and the others was fulfilling. “They are really enjoying the trip. It’s a dream come true for a lot them, especially to come to New York City,” Aroch said. “Every time we went in the street they were saying ‘We can’t believe we are in New York.’”