As many as 400 young Jewish leaders from across North America closed out a tumultuous 2025 by embracing acceptance and hope on Dec. 31, as they participated in ADI’s Fourth Annual “Race for Inclusion” at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, a fun run and jubilant celebration of ability at every level.
Running a tight 2.5K course around the renowned 40-acre rehabilitation village, the high school, gap-year and college students raised spirits and tens of thousands of dollars to provide much needed trauma treatments for the most vulnerable members of Israeli society, as well as heal war-wounded civilians and Israel Defense Forces at ADI Negev’s Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center, the first and only fully dedicated rehab hospital in southern Israel.
As the race began, participants from Jewish National Fund-USA’s Alternative Winter Break and Alexander Muss High School in Israel programs led the pack along a fully accessible track that encircled ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran. Following close behind were rehabbing IDF soldiers, the members of ADI Negev’s wheelchair basketball team and inclusive gardening staff, in addition to gap-year students studying at Israeli yeshivahs and seminaries, including Midreshet Tiferet, Yeshivat Ashreinu and Amudim.
Throngs of ADI residents, special-education students, rehabilitation patients, staff members and volunteers met the multitudes of runners at the finish line to complete the race side by side in the spirit of inclusion.
“On college campuses across the United States and in communities around the world, young people are running towards hate and promoting fear and division. But these proud Jewish students showed up today to run towards love and inclusion, to embrace hope, advance healing and highlight our shared humanity,” said Elie Klein, ADI’s North American director of advancement, just ahead of the race.
“With a heartbreaking number of war-wounded soldiers and civilians being rehabilitated throughout Israel, the reality of disability has never been clearer,” he said. “This uplifting annual event provides the next generation of Jewish leaders with an opportunity to confront that reality and demonstrate how promoting true inclusion and ability at every level makes us stronger as a society.”
Immediately following the race, all attendees gathered in the village’s accessible amphitheater for a spirited celebration featuring delicious food, live music and a medal ceremony for the top three finishers. The race’s first-place winner, Oliver Ferber—a native of Bethesda, Md., and a JNF-USA Alternative Winter Break participant studying at the University of Michigan—gushed that the event opened his eyes to the importance of disability inclusion and made him feel very proud to be a Jew.
“I’ve participated in many track meets over the years, and I have always seen running as a very gratifying and empowering experience,” said Ferber, who rose to international fame for sitting out Maryland’s 2021 high school cross-country state championship meet to observe Shabbat. “It was so exciting to see people of all abilities having the opportunity to feel that joy, and it also reminded me that disability doesn’t define anyone. Every person deserves to lead a full life and feel like part of the community.”
She added that “the whole event felt so communal, positive and uplifting, but the dance party following the race really touched my soul. Everyone was dancing together as one, and I felt so happy to belong to such a beautiful people.”
Dalia Arch-Andorsky, the race’s third-place finisher and a junior at Denver Jewish Day School, echoed the sentiment, noting that ADI’s Race for Inclusion “showed that all Jewish people are united as one nation even if some are perceived as different.”
“It was a meaningful and memorable experience that so clearly demonstrated the power of connection, diversity and inclusion,” Arch-Andorsky stated. “When we were dancing and singing with the ADI residents and special-education students, I could see how happy the interaction made them. I learned that empowering others and bringing them joy can be so simple. It’s about letting our humanity lead the way.”
By reimagining rehabilitation, ADI is advancing ability for all: empowering children, adolescents and adults with severe disabilities, and pioneering cutting-edge therapeutic and recovery services for anyone touched by disability. Since Oct. 7, 2023, ADI has provided the individualized care needed to ensure the consistent growth and long-term mental health of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens.
To learn more about ADI and to donate, visit: adi-israel.org.
