AKIM International

26/11/2025

Another pre-army training course through AKIM’s “Equal in Uniform” program has officially wrapped up with great success!

Huge shout-out to the incredible young women and men, special education students from Ashdod and the surrounding area, who showed dedication, motivation, and unstoppable spirit throughout the process.

Now, after completing their training, they’re ready to step into IDF bases in the region and take their first big step toward a meaningful and empowering military service. The pre-army program was introduced last year, and the results are highly impressive as the volunteers arrive in the IDF 'plug & play' ready to contribute.

So proud, so inspired❣️🔥

עוד הכשרה במסגרת שווים במדים של אקים בתמיכת משרד הרווחה והביטחון החברתי, הסתיימה בהצלחה. כל הכבוד לנערים ולנערות, תלמידי החינוך המיוחד מאשדוד והסביבה שלקחו חלק בהכשרה. עם תום הלימודים ישתלבו החברים כמתנדבים בבסיסי צה"ל, לקראת שירות צבאי משמעותי.
מרגש❣️

24/11/2025

Mazal Fogel is the devoted mother of Itay, a beloved member of the AKIM Nahal Sorek (Binyamina) Day Center.

Through her writing, Mazal pours out the challenges, the pain, and the precious moments of joy that come with raising Itay — moments that shape her life in the most profound ways.

This week, her new song “I Am Here” was released. Mazal wrote and composed it straight from the heart, and singer Ben Kirt brings it to life with a breathtaking performance that truly touches the soul.

Mazal dedicates this song to all those among us who often feel unseen — people with visible and invisible disabilities who want nothing more than to be acknowledged, to be recognized, to belong.
Their message is simple and powerful:
“See us. We are here.”

Watch the moving video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zH1ESRTUtI

מזל פוגל היא אמא של איתי, חבר אקים ממרכז יום נחל שורק.
את האתגרים, הקושי והשמחות הקטנות בלהיות אמא של איתי היא מבטאת בשירים שהיא כותבת.
השבוע יצא לאור "אני כאן", שיר חדש שכתבה והלחינה בביצוע מרגש של הזמר בן קירט עם קליפ שלא ישאיר אתכם אדישים. מזל בחרה להקדיש את השיר לכל האנשים השקופים שבינינו - אנשים עם מוגבלות נראית ובלתי נראית שרק מבקשים - תראו אותנו. אנחנו כאן.

לצפייה בקליפ לחצו כאן:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zH1ESRTUtI
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קרדיטים:
מילים ולחן - מזל פוגל
שירה - בן קירט
עיבוד - דוד דנוך
תופים והפקת קצב - דוד דנוך
גיטרות ותכנותים - תום בנודיז
מיקס מאסטר - תום בנודיז
יוצר הקליפ - רמון אטלי
עיצוב עטיפה - אורלי קירט

הצינור

17/11/2025

🎉 𝗔𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 🎉

Last week, our annual fundraising event was held at the Givatayim Theater.
Branch Chair, Rachel On, hosted a colorful and inspiring evening with the attendance of Ran Kunik, Mayor of Givatayim; Benny Reich, Deputy Mayor of Givatayim; Ziva Gabay, Director of the Social Services Division in Givatayim; Einav Bar Cohen, Acting Mayor of Ramat Gan; Avihu Ben Moshe, Deputy Mayor of Ramat Gan; Sigal Peretz Yahalomi, CEO of AKIM; representatives from the AKIM headquarters; supporters; and dedicated volunteers.

Guests and supporters enjoyed the musical performance “Life is Beautiful” by singer Orly Solomon - אורלי סולומון, accompanied by musicians and dancers.

The evening was skillfully hosted by Keren Dror, Akim’s Community Advocacy Coordinator, and Ronel Lev, a student at AKIM College for Inclusive Education and a member of the branch’s leadership team.

🙏 The donations collected during the event will directly support improving the quality of life and promoting inclusion in the community for members of AKIM Ramat Gan–Givatayim and their families.

Nir Neeman
רן קוניק העמוד הרשמי

13/11/2025

“𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 & 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬: 𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐌 𝐔𝐊’𝐬 𝟒𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐳 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐔𝐩 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧!”🧠

Earlier this week, 220 eager participants packed the Stanmore Synagogue events hall for AKIM UK’s 42nd annual 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐳
— and they were so excited, many arrived early!

Eight thrilling rounds — spanning sports, cinema, music, brain teasers, and Bible knowledge — kept tables locked in friendly rivalry. Guests enjoyed a delicious catered dinner, lively conversation, and plenty of laughter under the expert direction of dedicated committee members 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 & 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 & 𝐒𝐮𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐚, 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐚 & 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐚 & 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐝, joined by past committee members 𝐄𝐯𝐞 & 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲𝐧 & 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐥
The evening also featured a raffle to raise extra funds, including beautiful ceramic prizes, handmade by individuals from AKIM’s occupational centres — a lovely way to connect supporters with the creativity of those we serve.

AKIM Israel’s Director of International Relations Jack Frohlich was on hand and summed up the night:
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 — 𝒇𝒖𝒏, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚. 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒛𝒛 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈.”

👏 A huge Yasher Koach to this incredible team of volunteers for their decades of commitment to improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in Israel. Your passion and dedication make a real difference!

10/11/2025

Members of the AKIM Or Akiva Branch's "Our Voice" (Kolenu) Self-Advocacy Leadership movement were the driving force in establishing a new community center for adults with intellectual disabilities in the region.

Programming was launched with a professional photography workshop for the new visitors who began to attend the center. The participants in the workshop enjoyed it very much.

The joy experienced was extra special since the participants themselves played a major role in this blessed initiative 🪬.

03/11/2025

✨ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁: 𝗚𝗠𝗝𝗙 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺

Last week, we welcomed distinguished guests from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation to the Equal in Uniform program at an IDF base in the Tel Aviv region.

GMJF CEO Scott Kaufman, Head of Israel Appropriations Sheree Savar, and Israel Representative Ofer Lichtig were warmly hosted by the soldiers, their commanders, and program staff, joined by AKIM CEO Sigal Peretz Yahalomi and Director of International Relations Jack Frohlich.

During their visit, they met our dedicated volunteer-soldiers, hearing firsthand from proud program participants and commanders who praised the soldiers’ contributions.

Scott Kaufman shared:
“𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈.

𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒔. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚.”

We are deeply grateful for GMJF’s ongoing support and partnership in empowering individuals with disabilities to serve with pride and purpose. 💙



Friends of AKIM USA
Nir Neeman
Oshrat Groman
Larry Rein

02/11/2025

AKIM’s “Beit Gil” Day Center in Karmiel held a mosaic workshop inspired by artist Keith Haring—and the results were amazing! 🎨✨

Kudos to the staff for the wonderful idea, and to the participants for their beautiful ex*****on! 🤩

Art that brings joy, creativity, and connection.

החברים ממרכז יום 'בית גיל' של אקים בכרמיאל, השתתפו בסדנת פסיפס בהשראת האומן קית' הירינג ויצא להם מושלם! יישר כוח לצוות על הרעיון המקסים ולחברים על הביצוע🤩

29/10/2025

✨ A moving and historic event took place at the President’s Residence: First Lady Michal Herzog received the academic report on Project “Otzmot” – the first program in Israel and the world offering a bachelor’s degree to graduates with cognitive diversity.

Led by Prof. Hefziba Lifsh*tz, founder of the project and head of the Etel Institute at Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Education, the event marked a decade of groundbreaking research and implementation (2014–2025).

The findings are remarkable: structured academic inclusion and tailored mediation led to a significant increase in students’ IQ levels, reaching the borderline range (IQ 80–85), challenging traditional definitions of intellectual disability.

The panel featured AKIM CEO Sigal Peretz Yahalomi, MK Michal Woldiger, Prof. Zahavit Gross, Prof. Nirit Bauminger, Ms. Nava Niv from the Ministry of Education, and Gal Azoulos, CEO of Gal Homes — all emphasizing the importance of inclusion, excellence, and expanding opportunities for people with cognitive diversity.

Since 2014, six students — including individuals with Down syndrome — have completed 64 academic credits and earned their bachelor’s degrees from Bar-Ilan University.

Mrs. Herzog, who has supported the project since 2022 and attended the graduation ceremony in July 2024, said:

“Project Otzmot is living proof that with belief, support, and guidance – even the most impossible barriers can be broken. This is a revolutionary moral and social initiative that is transforming higher education in Israel.”

26/10/2025

“𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀” 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲

AKIM Beit She’an, Afula, and the Valley Region proudly present the return of "Simple Dreams", a moving theatrical production directed by Ido Weiss.

Featuring a talented cast of actors—all individuals with intellectual disabilities—the show brings to life stories and songs that speak to everyone, young and old alike.

Through sensitivity and grace, the production invites audiences into the world of people with disabilities, revealing their hopes and dreams, and their deep yearning to belong, to be seen, and to be treated as equals.

💙 A performance that inspires, connects, and reminds us of the beauty in every human story and aspiration.

Friends of AKIM USA
Nir Neeman

22/10/2025

Earlier this week, two elite Nahal Brigade soldiers, Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21, were killed in an incident near Rafah. This comes after Hamas broke the ceasefire agreement by firing anti-tank missiles and gunfire toward IDF soldiers.

The AKIM Israel family bows its head in deep sorrow and sends a warm embrace and heartfelt condolences to their bereaved families. 💔

Major Yaniv Kula z"l was beloved and cherished in the Modiin-Maccabim-Reut community, where he volunteered for many years at the AKIM summer camps and with כנפיים של קרמבו רשמי - Krembo Wings.

He was always there for the children, with a smile, boundless patience, and a heart full of kindness and giving.

May their memory be a blessing יהי זכרם ברוך 🙏🏼


Friends of AKIM USA
חיים דואק

16/10/2025

🕯️ Today marks Israel’s National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the October 7th Massacre - Simchat Torah, 2023.

We bow our heads in memory of the victims and pray for the return of all the remaining hostages awaiting burial in Israel.

Two stories have especially touched our hearts — the story of Carmela and Noya Dan, a devoted grandmother and her 12-year-old granddaughter, a girl with autism, who were brutally murdered in Kibbutz Nir Oz;
and the story of Ruth and Arik Peretz, a loving father and his 16-year-old daughter, a young woman with an intellectual disability and student at AKIM Haifa’s Gan Or program, who were murdered at the Nova music festival.

Two families whose stories have become symbols and reminders of the Hamas terrorists’ brutality and cruelty.

Noya, Carmela, Ruth, and Arik — we will remember you always. 🙏🕯️

Friends of AKIM USA
Larry Rein

08/10/2025

𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 (𝗦𝘂𝗸𝗸𝗼𝘁) 𝗮𝘁 “𝗕𝗲𝗶𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗶” 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗮 🌿

Our staff and residents of the Beit Halomi Hostel created a beautiful and thoughtfully decorated Sukkah, one of many Sukkot erected across the country at AKIM Community Living centers this year.

May AKIM’s Sukkah of Peace bring joy and good news to all this holiday. 🙏🏼✨