This article originally appeared on TheJ.ca on March 24, 2021. 

While the country was locked down by COVID-19, Beit Halochem Centres across Israel remained open to disabled veterans for their vital rehabilitation.

Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel is committed to rehabilitating, rebuilding, and enhancing the lives of over 50,000 Israelis disabled in the line of duty or through acts of terror. Since its 1978 founding, the organization has raised funds to provide rehabilitation services and programming for disabled veterans and their families at Beit Halochem Centres across Israel.

These leading-edge facilities in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beer Sheva, and the soon-to-be-completed Ashdod, offer veterans and their families a wide range of unparalleled individualized therapies, specialized sports training, rehabilitative equipment, and creative and cultural activities.

Deemed “essential services” by the Government of Israel, the designation demonstrates Beit Halochem’s central role in the lives of those who have given so much while defending Israel.

Even during this period of relative quiet, danger remains a reality for Israel’s protectors and Beit Halochem receives new members on a weekly basis. While each member has their own story, we share those of four young veterans, all recently injured in the line of duty.