'Heroes to Heroes' - To be treated like royalty, and to know they're not alone.

New Jersey-based organization 'Heroes to Heroes' brings groups of former U.S. soldiers to Israel, where their distress, they feel, doesn't fall on deaf ears.

Yardena Schwartz..
Haaretz..
31 October '13..

Greg Grutter did four deployments in Iraq and three in Afghanistan, where he suffered traumatic brain injuries after being the victim of a suicide bomber, and one year later, a roadside bomb. Last month the Rhode Island native -- who was discharged a year ago, suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- was in Israel, along with nine fellow war veterans all hoping to recover. “I’m on the path to getting better, and this trip has gone a long way to help,” said the 47-year-old father who has undergone three operations for neck injuries suffered in Afghanistan.

The idea that former U.S. soldiers with horrific memories of their deployments in the Middle East would go to Israel to heal isn’t exactly a given. But Teaneck, New Jersey native Judy Schaffer was convinced that a trip to Israel would hasten their emotional and spiritual recovery.

“There a lot of great veterans organizations in America, and they are doing great things. But it’s very hard to restore someone’s faith and spirit...in New Jersey or Montana. I think that Israel is the only place where that can be done...quickly,” explained Schaffer, founder of Heroes to Heroes, an American non-profit organization that brings traumatized U.S. veterans to Israel for a journey of spiritual healing.

Schaffer, daughter of a World War II veteran and a granddaughter of two World War I veterans, envisioned a Birthright-type trip designed meticulously for non-Jewish American war vets -- of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Since she founded the organization in 2011, it has organized and financed three Israel trips for war vets.

(+Video) To turn disabled IDF vets into ‘bionic men’

David Shamah..
The Times of Israel..
11 July '12..

Next week, eight disabled IDF veterans will receive new, top of the line artificial knees, enabling them, for the first time in years, to perform nearly any physical activity they please – including riding a bicycle, running and jogging.

The state-of-the-art knees are manufactured by Germany’s Otto Bock, and imported to Israel by Chemitec. “It’s not a prosthetic, but a bionic knee,” said Chemitec CEO Yossi Levin. “We are very proud to be bringing this technology to Israel, providing IDF soldiers injured in the line of duty with the opportunity to live normal lives once again.”



The Genium Bionic Prosthetic System, as it is formally known, is truly a wonder of the modern age, Levin told The Times of Israel. “The knee utilizes all the latest sensor, GPS, and Wi-Fi technology to provide automatic movement to individuals with injured knees. With the knee controlling all movement of the calves and feet, enabling individuals to once again use their knees allows them to engage in normal activities, like everyone else.” Because the process is automated – meaning that the knee responds to activity the individual wearing the knee is engaged in – the wearer does not have to think about his or her next step, providing a very different walking experience than individuals wearing regular prosthetics are used to, Levin added.