Ten-year-old Yehezkiel Roth, who is obsessed with robotics, has recently had the chance to fulfill his dream of visiting the Israel Defence Forces' simulation for robotics and autonomous lab.
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His dream came true with the help of the Make a Wish association which helps fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses between the ages of 3-18. Established in the United States in 1980, it has fulfilled 500,000 wishes all over the world, with the aim of "bringing the children's innocence and childhood back," and "transforming their tears and fear into laughter and joy."
Although the IDF's robotics unit is quite secretive, Yehezkiel, whose family and friends call him "Hezki," got to see a simulation led by the very team leader of the lab, Omer Greenwald, who showed the boy the technical and design aspects of the work of creating the simulations.
Hezki also got to try out the robotic arm and the virtual reality headsets, and an explanation of their use, and even visited the part of the lab where the robotics themselves are built.
Although Hezki is just 10 years old, he seems more mature, like an officer about to retire, or an education or transport minister, which are all professions he dreams of acquiring one day.
Perhaps it has to do with his life story, which if one wants to hear, he or she will need to dedicate several hours.
Hezki has medulloblastoma, a type of cancerous brain tumor in children. He was diagnosed in January this year, after he began complaining of strong headaches, and several days later, also vomiting. After the doctor ruled out a few options, he suggested Hezki be checked for a brain tumor.
The diagnosis shocked the family, but, thankfully, the tumor was fully removed by Professor Shlomi Constantini from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in the span of six surgeries.
Hezki was born in a Hassidic-Ultra-Orthodox family and lived in Elad in Judea and Samaria with his parents and siblings. At the age of 3, his parents divorced. His mother, Goldi, began questioning religion and eventually settled with the boys in Tel Aviv. Hezki's father, in turn, moved to the Haredi city of Beit Shemesh.
The boy has a high IQ, which you probably have guessed already, around 134, and during the coronavirus, when many ultra-Orthodox children could not study online, even created a scientific booklet together with his mother for Haredi kids named "Niflaot," which means "wonders" in Hebrew.
"It explains to children about science, technology, and physics," Hezki explained, saying that genius runs in the family. "My grandfather has a genius mind. He is a lawyer, and could have even become a member of the Knesset … He understands algebra and has even written a book on mathematics."
Hezki did not fall far from the tree and already at the age of two and a half could read.
"When I began first grade at the age of 6, I was in shock. I was already proficient in reading, and all of a sudden I saw children who could not read at all," he said.
During our interview, Hezki did not shy away from complicated questions either. We spoke about the difference between secular and ultra-Orthodox upbringing, of which he said: "Haredim need to be exposed to more things so that they won't look at the world through their rose-colored glasses. There are children in the world who don't believe in God, and I say that not everyone needs to believe, and if they are forced to, there will be resistance. Haredi children need someone to answer their questions."
Q: And what about secular children?
"They need to start asking questions."
Q: What about yourself?
"I have tons of plans. I want to program and build a root that will help the cars of the future. I want to help in the medical field, for example, to invent sweet medicine and painless needles, and most importantly – I want to build a robot doctor, for it to be programmed to perform surgeries without any medical malpractice. I also want to become the education and transportation minister, because there is always heavy traffic in Tel Aviv, unbearable."
Before all this, Hezki still needs to complete six more treatments, of which he is optimistic, and although I accompanied Hezki to offer support and strength, I feel I walk away from the interview having received more than given.
Although seventeen-year-old Shani Shayu, who is recovering from cancer, has been exempt from military service, she dreams of joining the IDF ensemble.
We meet as the Lehakat Hanachal military band is making its final preparations for a concert for outstanding soldiers.
Shani lives in Holon and is the youngest of three sisters. Her mom, Sophie, works in music psychotherapy. Shani herself is a member of the Bat Yam-based musical band "Kol Hayam," in Hebrew, "The sound of the sea."
When Shani was just 12, about to celebrate her bat mitzvah, she suffered from neck pain. A medical examination revealed she had Ewing sarcoma in her cervical spine, close to the main artery, which doctors could not operate on immediately. Shani began chemotherapy, which shrunk the tumor to an operable size.
The procedure lasted 12 hours, during which the affected neck vertebra was removed and replaced with a special one made of titanium that had been ordered from the United States.
Afterward, Shani had two more radiation treatments to complete, after which she had to relearn basic movements, such as jumping and walking down the stairs.
Although she missed a year and a half of school, Shani did not give up. Now in 12th grade, she is a hardworking student who lets no one take pity on her. Wearing a colorful headscarf, she continued to attend occasional medical check-ups, the results of which satisfied the doctors.
Before the concert, Shani has a chance to speak with members of the military band, and learns about the history of IDF ensembles, and how to submit an application for the band.
It also turns out that being accepted into the band is not easy. According to data, over 16,000 youngsters applied for the ensemble in the past year, of whom only 40 were accepted, but members assure Shani she has an advantage due to her participation in a musical band.
But this does not discourage Shani, who has already begun preparing for the auditions, although she says that even if she is not accepted, she will be fine, as, in the long run, she plans to study medicine, to be able to help others.
But in the meantime, she joins the IDF band on stage, and in my unprofessional opinion, fits in perfectly.
Sixteen-year-old Yuval Danilovich will soon fulfill his dream of taking a parachuting course with paratroopers. In fact, he was scheduled to take the course several months ago, but was then diagnosed with the coronavirus, and so the event was postponed.
Yuval, who has high-functioning Asperger's, is in 11th grade in a high school in Jerusalem. He is part of a collaborative classroom that includes children with special needs.
Yuval began to feel unwell shortly after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. He first collapsed when his family went on a hiking trip. Yuval's father, Gavi, thought it had to do with the fatigue that children in Israel in general exhibited due to the national lockdown, but then Yuval began to have blue marks on his back, which the doctor immediately suspected could be leukemia.
Three days after his diagnosis, Yuval began chemotherapy. After completing the treatments, the boy, who always liked extremism, began to think about such outings again.
Yuval eventually found himself at the Ashkelon bungee jumping facility. And so, not long after undergoing a complicated surgery, Yuval bungee jumped not once, but four times, from a 30-meter height. The doctor was shocked to hear of his adventures, but medical check-ups showed that the boy was fine.
Gabi said for a while, they did not know what was wrong with Yuval, but "the moment we had the diagnosis, it gave us the tools to cope, and the situation changed for the better."
Yuval's school, the family said, is incredibly accepting and supportive. He is well adjusted to society, and does well at school, especially in computers, graphic design, and animation.
Yuval wants to enlist in the IDF, but understands that his condition might prevent him from doing so. The military allows individuals with cancer or Aspergers or leukemia to enlist, but not in Yuval's case, who has both.
The boy insists he has a lot to give and has even had a meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi to convince him to be allowed to enlist.
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I accompany the father and son to the meeting, and the chief of staff introduces himself by his first name and asks Yuval to tell him about himself and his hobbies.
And so Yuval told Kochavi about drawing, computers, and programming, and the chief explained that the IDF is much more open to the public and that there is no difference between serving and volunteering in the military. So nothing stands in the boy's way of fulfilling his dream of joining the IDF.
Make A Wish opened its Israeli branch in 1996, and has made the wishes of over 5,300 critically ill Israeli children come true.
The meeting between Yuval and Kochavi is a good example, because "not only does it change the life of a boy, but also the lives of other children and gives them hope and an important message – that it is a privilege to serve in the IDF, even for children in complicated situations," Denise Bar-Aharon, who co-founded the Israeli branch with her husband Avi said.
"I get emotional every time I see that there are so many good people who want to donate and do good for these children, especially the IDF Spokesperson initiative to join the efforts, and I am grateful to every unit that took part in this magical project."
