Ya"M Fund in memory of Yehuda Menachem Ben-Yaacov ז"ל
 Yehuda menachem Ben-Yaacov ז"ל , a dear friend of SULAM who is sorely missed, believed first and foremost in education for all. Born in Jerusalem to a illustrious Syrian rabbinic family, Yehuda grew up poor with many siblings. Schooled in heder, he yearned for an even wider education. After losing both parents Yehuda spent ten years in the Israeli Navy and Merchant Marine and helped bring the warship Eilat to Israel. He achieved the rank of Chief Bridge Officer through studying on his own, and then moved to the US with his American bride, Esther, where he earned three engineering degrees at Georgia Tech.
Founded in 1981, SULAM is a pioneer in special education in Israel. SULAM works with children with a range of challenges including cognitive and motor dysfunction, developmental delays, learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), emotional problems, and combinations thereof.
18 years later, in 1984, Yehuda and family moved back to Israel. He waived the option of continuing his outstanding science career—he helped develop the remote camera systems for the Apollo moon missions—and chose to fulfill his dream of being involved in education in Jerusalem's poor neighborhoods. As a math teacher for unruly and unmotivated high school boys Yehuda did the impossible. His students showed up for class and did their homework every day. He finally confessed his secret of success to the school principal: any boy who did his homework for two weeks straight got a ride in Yehuda's fancy Volvo! It worked, and many of his students discovered the joy of learning and succeeding.
After retiring Yehuda continued to promote education for all by supporting his wife in her tireless volunteering for SULAM. Together, the Ben-Yaacovs created the impressive Animal Assisted Therapy program at SULAM. They bought the animals, cared for them and Esther took the children by hand into the animal rooms. Yehuda consulted, supported and helped raise money for the program. And he happily donated many, many 'Esther hours' to SULAM. It is in the merit of Yehuda and Esther Ben- Yaacov that countless children were given the opportunity to open up to therapies through the tremendous benefits of Animal Therapy.
Each day for months Esther took a seven year-old autistic boy who did not speak a word to feed the fish. As she guided his hand to the fish food and then to scatter it into the aquarium, she would say "O. is feeding the hungry fish with Esther." Then one day he reached by himself for the food and as he dispersed it he said his first words ever, loud and clear: "O. is feeding the hungry fish with Esther." He hasn't stopped talking since.
The Ya"M (from Yehuda Menachem's initials) Fund has been established by his family to raise funds for the children of SULAM. Many of the children come from very poor families and would not be able to offer their special needs children an intense therapy program and individualized education were it not for SULAM. Donations to the Fund will be used to benefit the children directly, especially those from families of limited means. SULAM, together with Yehuda and Esther, knows without a doubt that given the right opportunity, all children can learn. Please donate to SULAM's children in Yehuda's loving memory.
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