GET DISABLED ISRAELIS TO SURF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

We can help these Israeli para-athletes who are overcoming their unique physical impairments to be able to compete in the ISA World Para Surfing Championship in California from December 4th- 11th, 2022. We are on a tight schedule as the team will need the funds in early November. This campaign will end on October 31st. Please donate today. Please use this link if you need a tax-deductible contribution in the USA.

If you have heard me talk of Doron Zexer, my Israeli friend for over 15 years, you have heard me say that he is simply a light to the world. He is one of my great heroes. While living in Israel, he adopted me into his Israeli family and helped make Israel my home.

Near Passover of 2019, Doron fell from a cliff in the Negev Desert while trying to assist other hikers passing through a hazardous area. In addition to massive head injuries, Doron shattered his spine, is paralyzed from the chest down, and had to remain in the hospital for eight months.

After extensive rehab, he returned home and ambitiously chose to take up para-surfing.

Doron Zexer and Coach Adi Klang. Click here for video.

I want to help him and his other talented and physically impaired teammates to represent Israel in the upcoming Para Surfing World Championships from December 4th - 11th, 2022.

The Israeli government does not subsidize these para-athletes, but you can. The team is ready and has trained extensively, but the economic and financial reality is a significant stumbling block that pushes this dream further away for many team members. Any gift makes a difference, but you can fully sponsor a surfer to compete for US$5,000.

Click here to learn more about why helping persons with disabilities compete in sports is important.

Formerly called Adaptive Surfing, Para Surfing, a sport with multiple classifications based on specific impairments, is being considered for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Placing in international tournaments helps a team qualify for the Paralympic Games.

The Israel National Para Surfing team has five physically impaired male and female surfers, plus the necessary supporting athletes. Together, they share a common love of the sea and the collective dream of representing their country while competing on a world stage.

Funds will be applied to help cover the following:

Meet the Team:

Nachman - Having just won the US Open Championship, Nachman Yariv Belulu, a 47-year-old father of four and grandfather of one, is striving for his first World Championship. Nachman has been a surfer since childhood, an amputee for five years, and is a certified surf instructor. He won second place in 2021 at the surfing world championships and founded the Israeli soccer team for amputees.

Ayala- 41 years old with multiple sclerosis, Ayala Shuster is in ongoing rehabilitation and started surfing only two years ago. She surfs in the Unassisted-Prone position and took 4th place in the 2022 US Open Surfing competition. She says, “It’s never too late to have fun!”

Alon- Suffering from HPS (Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia), a neurological disease causing motor deterioration, among other complications, Alon Avishar has been surfing since the age of ten.

Doron - See details below

Coach Adi- At 55 years old, Adi Klang is the first Israeli surfer to win an official championship of the International Surfing Organization.

Adi won the World Para Surfing Championships of 2017 and 2020.

At age 35, Adi broke his left hip joint in a kitesurfing accident. During his recovery, his leg shortened by about 4 cm, and he suffered from movement disabilities and other complications.

Adi served as a rescue engineer in the military reserves after his injuries. He volunteers weekly with activities in the sea for children with special needs and people with disabilities. At the end of the summer of 2018, Adi opened "Gal-Galim,” an adaptive surfing school, the first of its kind in Israel, which enables persons with special needs to confront challenges and enjoy thrills in the sea.

*There is also a 15-year-old visually impaired team member (not pictured).

What happened to the para-surfer, Doron Zexer?

Near Passover of 2019, Doron was hiking in the Negev Desert and assisting other hikers in passing through a precarious climb when he fell approximately 40 meters from a cliff, shattering his spine and causing hemorrhaging from massive head injuries. In searing pain, Doron forced himself to stay awake for 90 minutes until a rescue helicopter could fly him to the emergency room. The emergency transport team was sure that they were delivering a dead body. Doron’s head and spinal injuries required several surgeries, and remaining in the hospital for over eight months. He is now paralyzed from his chest down.

Doron Zexer is married, a father of two, and a member of Kibbutz Hatzor near Ashdod, Israel.

Doron has to travel each week for rehabilitation therapy to maintain the parts of his body that he cannot feel or control. He loves visiting his rescue and medical team that managed his survival and rehabilitation for all those months in the hospital, and he exudes such gratitude for them. Unable to use any core muscles, Doron has trained hard and strengthened his arms and shoulders to become astoundingly independent.

There are still significant challenges and ambitious goals Doron is determined to achieve.

Doron is constantly seeking ways to thrive beyond anyone’s imagination. Within a year after returning to live with his family on the kibbutz, Doron began learning to para-surf in nearby Ashdod with Coach Adi Klang. With Doron’s ankles tethered together, he surfs on his elbows in a prone position. In 2021, Doron used his savings to pay for himself and his supporting teammates to compete in the World Championship event.

Doron has always been a consistent activist in Israel for many social causes, such as helping many children needing life-saving surgery that their families could not afford. Until his injury, Doron was in the Israel army reserves and is greatly respected and admired for his unabashed generosity and courage.

In addition to striving to bring back a medal from the ISA Para Surfing Championship, Doron is training to be able to take children from shelters in Israel to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2024. Doron will hike in a wheelchair!

To quote Theador Herzl, "Im tirtzu ein zo agadah" "אם תרצו, אין זו אגדה"

If you will it, it is not a dream.

What can we do?

By the end of October, The Israel National Para Surfing Team needs US$25,000 to cover half of the expenses necessary to travel to the ISA World Para Surfing Championship. The event takes place in Pisco Beach, CA, from December 4th - 11th, 2022. Even a small contribution makes a difference.

Why is this so important to me?

My best friend in Israel, Doron, is like a brother and is an inspiration to me. When he learned of my passion for helping African refugees, he did not hesitate to help. He adopted me into his large and close-knit family, with whom I have spent dozens of Shabbat dinners and holidays.

Doron helped make Israel a home for me and inspired me to become a more generous soul. Most of our discussions involve his sharing new ways to better the world. He is one of my great heroes.

Doron Training in Ashdod

I was fortunate enough on my visit last Summer to be able to be a spotter for Doron while he was surfing. In addition, his wife, Gafnit, and I were spotters at Gal Galim for blind surfers the next day.

Situating him on his surfboard

Doron cruising in Ashdod, Israel, September, 2022.

A wipeout at the end of the run

Most of us know someone who has paralysis, is an amputee, is blind, or suffers from another impairment. We can help this team achieve their dream of competing in the ISA World Para Surfing Championship in California from December 4th - 11th, 2022. The Israeli team needs at least $25,000 by the end of October to enable them to get there.

I hope you will find this a worthy cause, and I am grateful for any contribution you choose to make.

The Volunteer spotters and Doron in Ashdod, Israel.

In addition to contributing to this worthwhile cause, please consider sharing this Gofundme campaign on your social media.

We are now working with a US 501c3, Prosthetic Hope International, that will allow contributions to be tax deductible in the USA, . If you need the tax deduction to contribute, please contribute via this GoFundMe link:

The initial $25,000 sought will cover approximately 50% of the total costs of attending the event. Please note that GoFundMe will ask for a tip and this is completely optional to you.