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Young Israel Assists Deaf Parents Of Fallen Israeli Soldier - - Five Towns Jewish Times
Staff Sergeant Liran Banai, a 20-year-old soldier in the IDF’s Givati Brigade, was critically injured on March 6 when a bomb was detonated by remote control under the jeep he was driving. At the time, Banai was patrolling the Gaza security fence near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha. Banai suffered massive injuries from the explosion and experienced significant blood loss as well as a partial leg amputation. He died of his wounds on March 9.
Liran Banai’s parents, Guy and Gila Banai, are deaf, and, according to Rabbi Aaron S. Tirschwell, Liran Banai could have received an exemption from army service because of that. Instead, he chose to serve in the army and to perform his service in an elite combat division. Rabbi Tirschwell is the director of Israel operations for National Council of Young Israel and is the chief program and development officer for the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel (CYIR). Liran’s parents have both participated in CYIR’s Judaic Heritage Program for Israel’s Deaf and Hearing Impaired (JHPIDHI) for a number of years. Guy Banai also serves on the administration of the deaf moadon (club) in Ashkelon with which JHPIDHI is affiliated.
The JHPIDHI has been instrumental in offering much-needed assistance and support to the Banais. Rabbi Chanoch Yeres, the director of JHPIDHI, organized shivah visits to the Banai home in Ashkelon. Rabbi Yeres and others were able to translate for a number of visitors to the shivah house so that they could communicate with Guy and Gila Banai. At the request of the Banai family, JHPIDHI also organized a leil limud-tikun (an evening of learning and Torah study) for the deaf at the Banai home during the shivah period. Shiurim were presented by Rabbi Alex Yeres and Rabbi Dovid Ben Dovid. JHPIDHI’s staff organized buses and arranged for their program participants to travel to Ashkelon to visit the Banai family during the shivah period.
The CYIR, which was established in 1990, works to support and endorse activities and programs that confront the modern-day challenges that Israeli communities and their rabbis face. CYIR focuses on bridging gaps and fostering networks among the factions within the greater Jewish community, heightening Jewish identity in Israel and the Diaspora, and providing counseling for individuals in crisis.
With approximately 18,000 deaf people in Israel, plus the 200,000 who are hearing-impaired, the need to educate Israel’s deaf community in Judaism and Zionism is overwhelming. A major communications gap often prevents the deaf in Israel from participating in Zionist, Judaic culture, and Jewish ritual. The CYIR has committed itself to raising awareness of Jewish identity among the deaf community by establishing the Judaic Heritage Program for Israel’s Deaf and Hearing Impaired.
JHPIDHI fosters the Jewish identity of Israel’s deaf and hearing-impaired through intellectually stimulating courses and holiday events, transmitted via sign language, which increase their knowledge of Jewish heritage and Zionism. The program also trains rabbis and educators to communicate via sign language. More than 16,000 deaf and hearing-impaired Israelis attend JHPIDHI programming throughout the year. JHPIDHI is funded in part by the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Staff Sergeant Liran Banai, a 20-year-old soldier in the IDF’s Givati Brigade, was critically injured on March 6 when a bomb was detonated by remote control under the jeep he was driving. At the time, Banai was patrolling the Gaza security fence near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha. Banai suffered massive injuries from the explosion and experienced significant blood loss as well as a partial leg amputation. He died of his wounds on March 9.
Liran Banai’s parents, Guy and Gila Banai, are deaf, and, according to Rabbi Aaron S. Tirschwell, Liran Banai could have received an exemption from army service because of that. Instead, he chose to serve in the army and to perform his service in an elite combat division. Rabbi Tirschwell is the director of Israel operations for National Council of Young Israel and is the chief program and development officer for the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel (CYIR). Liran’s parents have both participated in CYIR’s Judaic Heritage Program for Israel’s Deaf and Hearing Impaired (JHPIDHI) for a number of years. Guy Banai also serves on the administration of the deaf moadon (club) in Ashkelon with which JHPIDHI is affiliated.
The JHPIDHI has been instrumental in offering much-needed assistance and support to the Banais. Rabbi Chanoch Yeres, the director of JHPIDHI, organized shivah visits to the Banai home in Ashkelon. Rabbi Yeres and others were able to translate for a number of visitors to the shivah house so that they could communicate with Guy and Gila Banai. At the request of the Banai family, JHPIDHI also organized a leil limud-tikun (an evening of learning and Torah study) for the deaf at the Banai home during the shivah period. Shiurim were presented by Rabbi Alex Yeres and Rabbi Dovid Ben Dovid. JHPIDHI’s staff organized buses and arranged for their program participants to travel to Ashkelon to visit the Banai family during the shivah period.
The CYIR, which was established in 1990, works to support and endorse activities and programs that confront the modern-day challenges that Israeli communities and their rabbis face. CYIR focuses on bridging gaps and fostering networks among the factions within the greater Jewish community, heightening Jewish identity in Israel and the Diaspora, and providing counseling for individuals in crisis.
With approximately 18,000 deaf people in Israel, plus the 200,000 who are hearing-impaired, the need to educate Israel’s deaf community in Judaism and Zionism is overwhelming. A major communications gap often prevents the deaf in Israel from participating in Zionist, Judaic culture, and Jewish ritual. The CYIR has committed itself to raising awareness of Jewish identity among the deaf community by establishing the Judaic Heritage Program for Israel’s Deaf and Hearing Impaired.
JHPIDHI fosters the Jewish identity of Israel’s deaf and hearing-impaired through intellectually stimulating courses and holiday events, transmitted via sign language, which increase their knowledge of Jewish heritage and Zionism. The program also trains rabbis and educators to communicate via sign language. More than 16,000 deaf and hearing-impaired Israelis attend JHPIDHI programming throughout the year. JHPIDHI is funded in part by the Jewish Agency for Israel.