San Diegan Finishes Second Among 400 in Race for Inclusion in Southern Israel

Aaron Drasnin, second place finisher at ADI’s Race for Inclusion.

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — San Diego native Aaron Drasnin recently finished in second place among more than 400 hundred young North American Jewish gap-year and college students who participated in ADI’s third “Race for Inclusion” in southern Israel.

Drasnin, a Jewish National Fund-USA Alternative Winter Break participant who is currently studying at Case Western Reserve University, noted that the event “helped him fall in love with the people and land of Israel.”
“Before coming on this mission, I felt a connection to the people of Israel — my fellow Jews — but never to the land of Israel,” Drasnin said. “This is my first time visiting southern Israel, and this very special experience brought everything into focus for me. The land of Israel is as beautiful as the diverse populations who live here, and I finally see the full picture.”

On December 24, just ahead of Chanukah, Drasnin and his fellow participants ran a tight 2.5-kilometer (1.6-mile) course around the 40-acre ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran rehabilitation village in Ofakim. They raised more than $23,000 to provide much needed post-trauma treatments for the most vulnerable members of Israeli society and heal the Negev’s war-wounded IDF soldiers and civilians.  ADI is an abbreviation for “Ability, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

As the race began, participants from JNF-USA’s Alternative Winter Break and Israel volunteer missions led the pack along a fully accessible track that encircled ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran. Following close behind were gap year students studying at Israeli yeshivot and seminaries, including Tiferet, Torah Tech, Mechinat Ruach HaNegev, Yeshivat Ashreinu and Amudim, as well as a MEOR contingent from Drexel University. Dozens of ADI residents, special education students, and rehabilitation patients met the throngs of runners at the finish line to complete the race side by side in the spirit of inclusion, acceptance and hope.

“On October 7, 2023, the intersection of Route 241 just outside the gates of ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran saw sadistic violence, unfathomable inhumanity and abundant agony. Some 445 days later, it’s thrilling to see hundreds of passionate young leaders putting their love, empathy, altruism and Jewish pride on full display, and reclaiming the Negev as a region of resilience and renewal,” said Elie Klein, ADI’s North American Director of Advancement.

He added, “It’s one thing to talk about core Jewish values and promoting true inclusion, but it’s another to take action and live that elevated lifestyle. This magical annual event allows us to demonstrate how promoting ability at every level makes us stronger as a society and helps us shine the light of humanity during our darkest times.”

At the conclusion of the race, all of the runners gathered in the village’s accessible amphitheater for a joyous inclusive celebration featuring music, food, and a medal ceremony for the top three finishers.

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 October 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, while also healing dozens of war-wounded IDF soldiers and civilians from the country’s hardest hit communities at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran’s Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center — the first and ONLY rehabilitation hospital in Israel’s south.

To learn more about ADI and to donate, visit adi-israel.org.

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Preceding provided by ADI