For many Israelis, serving in the Israel Defense Forces is the key to networking and a career.
For Chen Orpaz, joining the IDF and working in the warehouse of an air force base provided the opportunity to forge a career and prove he could work productively when many others doubted he could.
Orpaz, 23, now works in the warehouse of a Rehovot-based tech company, filling orders. Dressed in a blue fleece hoodie and matching knit yarmulke, and wearing a broad smile, he glides from aisle to aisle, choosing tiny parts from colored bins as he moves through his checklist.
Historically, the army has slammed the door in the face of young adults like Orpaz, who has an intellectual disability.
Thousands of young people with cerebral palsy, autism and other disabilities were turned away until IDF Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ariel Almog in 2008 founded Special in Uniform with the Israeli Ministry of Social Services. The nonprofit, which receives support from the Jewish National Fund, makes it possible for Israeli citizens with disabilities to serve as fully functioning soldiers in regular units.
“In their neighborhood, they’re called pejorative names,” Almog said. “Now, they’re serving just like everybody else — they’re equal in society. They really want to do it, and they really want to be equal to everyone else.”
The idea behind Special in Uniform took root during a disastrous moment that changed Almog’s life. He suffered a serious, life-threatening head injury while trying to save a bus full of passengers from a terrorist attack.
“When I was in the hospital, I saw people coming in from car accidents with all kinds of life-altering disabilities,” he said. “I promised that when I came out, I would do something to help people with disabilities.”
At first, the army didn’t want to take Almog’s “special soldiers,” and Almog said he understood the IDF’s concerns. “There are many matters to deal with that involve weapons and ammunition,” he said. “If someone were to get a hold
of something they shouldn’t, people could die.” To solve this issue, guides shadow Special in Uniform soldiers to ensure that nothing goes awry.
For his part, Orpaz found it “exciting to serve in the army. I was so proud to have worn my uniform and to have had the same experiences as my peers,” he said.
Orpaz said he made many good friends in the air force, and proudly showed some of his smartphone videos of the time they spent together.
Almog believes that helping former soldiers like Orpaz find meaningful work afterward is also his responsibility.
Orpaz now works for Idea, which supplies parts and designs for clients such as Hewlett-Packard, using skills he learned while working on the air force base.
“Before [serving in] the army,” Almog said, “Orpaz didn’t have hand-eye coordination; he learned how to do it and we’re advancing it further here. It’s like math, you have to work at it.”
Orpaz’s supervisor said the company didn’t hesitate to hire him. “He’s a warehouse worker, like every other warehouse worker,” he said. “In the end this is about supplying our customer. We can help him out, but he has to learn and do the work like everyone else.”
When it isn’t possible for someone to serve fully in the IDF, Special in Uniform tries to find a volunteer position for the candidate. (Army volunteers can wear their uniform only on their base, and do not receive a paycheck from the IDF.)
But for Orpaz and others like him, serving a full army term is a huge source of pride.
“If they wear the uniform, they’re just like every other soldier. They receive a paycheck from the IDF, and when they’re released, they receive grants and all benefits any other soldier would,” Almog said.
About 50 IDF soldiers and volunteers with autism serve within an intelligence project called Roim Rachok (“Seeing Far”), which in 2014 helped scan aerial reconnaissance photos at levels that machines and other soldiers could not resolve during Operation Protective Edge. Following the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, Special in Uniform soldiers packed supplies for rescue efforts, and later received recognition for their contribution to Israel’s safety and security.
Corporal Ben Levi, a soldier with Special in Uniform, was a recipient of the IDF Excellence Award on Israel Independence Day last year.
With almost 1,000 “program veterans” to date, Special in Uniform has grown from a single soldier in its first year to more than 250 today. “We’re in touch with special-needs schools all over the country,” Almog said. He believes there is an an unprecedented demand to expand the program and include many more young people who not only want to serve their country, but to feel included and accepted.
“They say the Israeli army is the ‘people’s army’ for the land of Israel,” said Almog. “When we say ‘people,’ we need to include all sectors of society, including people with disabilities.”