At a gathering that was at once painful and filled with hope,
the City of Jerusalem held an opening ceremony for a new
rehabilitative swimming pool in Ramot Dalet at the Siach Sod
School. The new pool was built on a large plot of land
allocated to the organization through efforts by Mayor Rabbi
Uri Lupoliansky.
Other contributors to the construction of the pool, which was
designed by top architects in cooperation with the
organization's professional staff, included the Keren Shalem-
New Jerusalem Foundation and the Friends of Siach Sod. No
expense was spared to attain the perfect end product. The
entire facility, including the annex rooms, was planned to
accommodate hydrotherapy, and high quality equipment was
purchased to maximize the benefits the pool has to offer and
to make its appearance as aesthetically pleasing as
possible.
The project was started at the initiative of Siach Sod
director and founder, the late Rabbi Dov Levy, a man of
vision and action who had the merit to realize many
aspirations for children with special needs in the chareidi
education system. Rabbi Levy took part in all phases of the
construction of the pool and was happy to be able to realize
another dream to be added to the paramedical services
provided for his students. Last month, after he finished
planning the opening ceremony and sent out invitations, he
passed away unexpectedly at the peak of his achievement.
Naturally the ceremony turned into a memorial event and
eulogy for the father of chareidi special education who
dedicated his whole life to the cause. He built an entire
empire of professional rehabilitation with his own two hands.
The event was attended by Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky,
Education Commissioner and Deputy Mayor Rabbi Uri Maklev,
representatives of the municipal welfare department,
representatives of the New Jerusalem Foundation, National
Insurance, the Education Ministry and the Welfare
Ministry.
Mayor Lupoliansky, who was given the honor of cutting the
ribbon, described the character of the organization's
founder. He said Jerusalem lost a figure filled with burning
faith able to make revolutionary changes. All of the invited
representatives gave their blessings for the new pool
designed to provide optimal treatment conditions.
