The parents of 12-year-old Harel Hendin say their son was left in a degrading situation at an Omer Adam concert at Ramat Gan Stadium, after the accessible seating area remained largely empty while they were forced to carry him up the stadium steps. Harel, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was seated in a regular chair without proper support, and his mother said they had to keep a hand on him throughout the show to prevent him from falling.
According to the family, the problem began well before the concert. On May 28, 10 days before the event, Harel’s father, Lior Hendin, emailed Ticketmaster in detail and asked for a solution that would let the family stay together in the accessible section. He wrote, “We do not even need to sit, the main thing is to be together as a family.” The company later said allowing more companions would reduce places for other disabled attendees.
Noa Hendin told C14 that the family was left with an unfair choice between being together and Harel’s comfort. She said the accessible stand was visibly empty for much of the evening, contradicting later claims of exceptional crowding, and that hundreds of stewards were present but none intervened. She also said the company’s official reply arrived only on June 14, about a week after the concert ended, stating that the request had been handled by phone.
The family says the criticism is not directed at Omer Adam himself. His father, Yaniv Adam, contacted them personally and apologized for what happened. Ticketmaster said the case exposes a gap in Israel’s accessibility law, arguing that extra companions for one disabled attendee reduce availability for others and that it is working within legal and insurance limits. The company said it hopes regulators will update the rules and added that it had offered the family alternative solutions for future shows.
