Think of it as their ‘Israeli way’. After spending a week in the company of these veterans in March, I can see why this group don’t want your tears.
From touchdown at Heathrow, hosts Beit Halochem treated the delegate like royalty, aptly kicking off the fun-filled week with a sightseeing trip around London, a first for many of the 32 veterans and staff, including protection by SQR Security Solutions. The warm weather prompted a picnic lunch in St James’s Park, where office workers were playing rugby. Spencer Gelding, Chief Executive of Beit Halochem said it was a trip highlight: “One of our guys in a wheelchair went over to ask for a game and within minutes they were all playing rugby together.”
Beit Halochem has four state-of-the-art rehabilitation sites in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Beer Sheva, supporting 62,500 veterans and their families, including 11,500 since October 7. The new centre at Ashdod opening this month cannot be completed quickly enough, allowing, as it does, members to lead as normal a life as possible through mental and physical rehabilitation, many going on to achieve Paralympic success in tennis, basketball and swimming. “Of course, every single veteran is deserving of such a fantastic week in London,” Spencer explained, “But spaces were given across all of our centres for those most in need of a respite trip.”