Amidst rigorous academics; the students of Eton College in England, dressed in suits with tails, paused their studies for a musical performance by the Shalva Band and learned a most unique lesson on inclusion and hope. Comprised of especially talented musicians with disabilities from Israel, the Shalva Band has become an international model for values [...]
Powerful Performance Sends Take Home Message of the GA: The importance of dialogue is fundamentally linked to the importance of listening to one another The General Assembly, an annual gathering of the top Jewish leaders from Israel and North American, was held this year at the Tel Aviv Convention Center from Oct. 22-24. This year's [...]
Over 150 members of AIPAC’s North American Leadership spent the morning at the Shalva National Center where they learned about Israel’s leading innovations in the field of disabilities. The audience were blown away by the fantastic Shalva Band which comprises eight adults with disabilities who performed both the American and Israeli National anthems and a [...]
After battling cancer, Mark Joffe faced another challenge, as he joined an international group of climbers and headed to Tanzania, Africa to climb the 19,000 ft. high Mt. Kilimanjaro; but not before dedicating his climb to the children of Shalva. Mark was determined to making his journey as meaningful as possible and raised three times [...]
Shalva's summer camp, held in the first week of August, was a great success. Hundreds of children and their counselors had an amazing, much needed respite, "sleep away" experience with outings, adventures, connection and fun! The camp allowed the Shalva kids to have a special summer experience and gave their parents a period of respite. [...]
The upcoming academic year will marks two years since Shalva National Center opened its doors in the heart of Jerusalem. What started out as a dream has since become our new reality. The new Shalva National Center has helped thousands of children and their families, held incredible events and special celebrations and hosted tens of thousands of [...]
Shalva graduates Ortal Karp, Raphael Cohen and Tal Kima were thrilled to be invited to carry the official flag at the opening of the International Children's Games competition- which was held this summer in Israel ( for the first time ever!) Ortal, Raphael and Tal also performed on the stage as representatives of the Israeli delegation. [...]
Maccabi came to visit! But this was no small tour. Shalva hosted over 550 athletes, ages fourteen through sixteen, from eleven countries around the world (wow!) at the Shalva national center as part of a cooperative program with Maccabi World Union. The Maccabi World Union, which hosted the Maccabi Youth Games in July and August in [...]
After much preparation and anticipation, Shalva's first independent living home opened this past summer. The apartment is designed and set up in such a way which allows the residents to successfully integrate and participate in community life. Each resident has gained a sense of pride- as they too have taken the next step in adulthood, living independently from [...]
The Shalva Band performed at Talks at Google on March 19th. After a brief introduction by a Google team member, who said he had seen the band perform earlier that year and was impressed with their talent and professionalism, Shalva's founder Kalman Samuels spoke about the origins of Shalva and how the Shalva Band began. [...]
