TEL AVIV-JAFFA, Israel – An Israeli healing program encourages Christian, Jewish, and Muslim youths to ride the same wave toward a brighter future. CBN News traveled to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area to see it in operation.
Israel’s Mediterranean Coast boasts stunning views and great beaches.
Yaron Waksman is C.E.O. of an organization called Ha-Gal Sheli. Its program uses the waves to bring Israeli teenagers closer together.
“The sea is the ultimate metaphor for life,” Waksman told us. “It could be big and scary. It can be flat, to be sunny, like today. And so many things that you have control of, and so many things that are not.
Ha-Gal Sheli is Hebrew for “My Wave.” The program aims to use the power of the sea and the challenges of surfing to help the teens heal from trauma and gain a sense of self-confidence and achievement that will propel them through the challenges of life.
“How do I act when I’m, when I have an experience (of ) fear?” Waksman asked. “You try again. You fall, you get up again, you get smashed – you got to get up again.”
As a teenager, Waksman discovered surfing, and it helped him to get back on track. Later, he wanted to “pay it forward” and help other youth. He and co-founder Omer Tulchinsky did just that in 2012.
So, we started , back in the day, to work with youth at risk,” Waksman explained. “And then it was new to people with disabilities and special education. And six years ago, maybe more than before the war, actually, we started to work in conjunction with the Ministry of Defense Rehabilitation Department, working with veterans who are suffering from PTSD.”
They grew to twelve centers and 500 staff members, stretched out along Israel’s Mediterranean coastline. Then, after October 7th, 2023, they saw the need to expand their work.
“So now, we’re working with literally every single one of the communities from down south,from the Gaza envelope,” Waksman noted.
He added, “We have released hostages with their families, Nova festival survivors, veterans, and of course, all walks of the Israeli society. So, we’re working with Jewish, Christians, and Muslims, boys, girls, Orthodox, ultra-Orthodox, secular, Bedouin. You know, a kid is a kid.”
In today’s world, many wonder if that causes friction.
Waksman addressed that, answering, “Always.”
He continued, “And with the unique program that was built, so, you learn how to live together and how to accept the other. And you don’t have to agree. Like, it’s fine. And I think our main issue is to be there for every, every individual.”
That mission has resulted in 20,000 Ha-Gal Sheli alumni, with five thousand this year alone.
That number includes Elias Saba, who has been with the program from the beginning.
Born in the U.S., Saba, an Arab Christian, moved to Israel as a child and grew up in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv.
Saba told us, “I didn’t really fit in. And I got bullied for, like, seven years until I reached Or Geula. Then, when I got to Or Geula over there, there was this program about surfing, and I was overweight, and I didn’t know how to swim or anything, and I still wanted to go, and they took the risk of me.”
While he was afraid at the beginning, little by little, Saba overcame his fear and learned how to surf.
He remarked, “It’s exonerating, to be honest, because at the end of the day, when you, you know, when you, when you weigh, like, around 320 pounds or 145 kilos, you never believe that you’ll be able to stand up on a surfboard and, you know, catch that wave and, like, you know, pull off all these moves and stuff.”
Then, he added, “But, yeah, it really is like, it really opens up your horizons, broadens it up, and shows you what you can do only by believing.”
After his personal achievement, Saba wanted to help others, so he joined the team and became a certified instructor.
He declared, “ I really believe that Ha-Gal Sheli is a beacon for hope, and for peace and for progress. Because at the end of the day, we’ve been doing this for 12 years now, and we reach kids from all around Israel.
He continued, “It doesn’t matter if they’re white, black, Muslim, Christian, or whatever. Like, even if you have a tail on your forehead, you’re still going to be accepted here. We’re going to take you in, we’re going to love you, and we’re going to teach you how to deal with life on a day-to-day basis, and not only how to surf.”
Eighteen-year-old Nahman Kaber dealt with bullies at school for seven years. That led to depression, and Kaber even felt suicidal before joining Ha-Gal Sheli.
He recalled, “Just in the moment that I saw how the sea works and how the community works and everything is put together, I just fell in love immediately with everything that they are doing. “And they took my feelings, which were like a storm inside of me. And I didn’t understand what I’m feeling, what I’m supposed to feel. And they told me, you’re going to feel this.”
That’s when his perspective changed, and Kaber started to move forward.
“And they explained it,” he said. “And then I started to understand how my feeling was, how can I move with them and around my body. Like, why does my stomachache? Why do I have straight-up stress, panic attacks, and all that other stuff? And they told me how to do it and how to heal from it. And they gave me a purpose to wake up today. They told me how happiness feels. And I think that’s like the best thing I’ve ever done for me.”
After the initial course, Kaber has continued for almost five years now.
He explained, “I was like, ‘I want to do more. I want to be more than party. So, I want to help kids. I want to do what you do,’ and then they said, like, ‘You can come over for another year.’ And I was like, that’s amazing. That’s exactly what I want. I think it’s one of the most amazing things that we do here. We don’t leave you hanging.”
After their second year, students can train to become instructors.
