IDF Partners With Rehabilitation Company to Employ People With Disabilities on Military Bases

About three and a half years ago, a collaboration began between the rehabilitation company "HaMeshakem," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the Employment Service to integrate people with disabilities into meaningful employment on IDF bases. HaMeshakem specializes in rehabilitative employment, placing workers with disabilities in roles such as gardening, maintenance, cleaning, packaging, and kitchen work across more than 40 military bases nationwide.

One notable example is at the Ground Forces Command base, Camp Bar Lev in the Shfela region, where the project staffs 15 positions. This initiative has become a successful model of employment integration, emphasizing personalized job placement, professional support, and close cooperation among the three organizations. Each employee is matched to a role suited to their abilities and receives ongoing professional guidance and social support, fostering a sense of belonging, stability, and purpose.

A participant expressed deep emotion watching soldiers, saying, "After all I have been through, I never believed this was possible." The program demonstrates how coordinated efforts can transform the lives of people with disabilities by providing them with meaningful work opportunities within the IDF framework.