First Lady, Mrs Michal Herzog, was the guest of honour at Ohel Sarah’s Inclusive Workplace Award ceremony in Tel Aviv, on June 20th 2023. She said: “This important prize will encourage and praise employers who have chosen to see the person beyond the disability; the will to enable each person, including one with a disability, […]

“Thank you so much to everyone at Ohel Sarah for the amazing work that you do. It was an honor to see firsthand the projects and to meet your wonderful clients, children, adults and parents, and the very many people who give their time to make Ohel Sarah the wonderful place that it is. Kol Hakavod!”

Mrs. Celia Gould, spouse of former British Ambassador to Israel.

“Seeing young men working in nature is beautiful and inspiring! In this day and age, where technology suppresses man’s ability to really connect to his surroundings, I am impressed by Ohel Sarah’s encouragement of its students to appreciate and live nature.”

Mr. Chaim Messing, Chairman of the Jewish National Fund, Central Israel, during his visit to Ohel Sarah’s Therapy Greenhouse.

“It is wonderful to see these women working and being involved in meaningful employment. I am a staunch believer that people with special needs deserve to feel like contributing individuals in the community. Ohel Sarah serves as an advocate for adults with disabilities and advances their right to take an active part in society”

Mr. Eli Dadon, Chairman of the Israel National Lottery.

“I have been deeply impressed by the devotion, high professional standards, care and warmth and individual attention that each student at the organization receives…and by its constant aspiration towards advancement and improvement – all carried out with the purpose of providing the best possible care to the students.”

Michal Hertzog, Wohl Foundation.

Ohel Sarah’s award ceremony celebrates inclusivity at work

First Lady, Mrs Michal Herzog, was the guest of honour at Ohel Sarah’s Inclusive Workplace Award ceremony in Tel Aviv, on June 20th 2023. She said:

“This important prize will encourage and praise employers who have chosen to see the person beyond the disability; the will to enable each person, including one with a disability, to lead a meaningful and contributing life, is a will that crosses all communities, sectors, age-groups and faiths. It is a human will, that brings us all together”.

We created this award with the support of the Matanel Foundation. Hundreds of businesses which employ people with disabilities applied for cash prizes, recognising and celebrating their efforts to be inclusive.

Mr. Oren Helman, Senior Vice President of the Israel Electric Corporation was the MC of the event. He is a strong advocate for people with disabilities. Many MKs, Government officials and other dignitaries attended the event which was held in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on June 20th.

First prize went to Concept Pharmacies, which has employed a large percentage of people with with various disabilities across many departments for over a decade.

Second prize went to Golbary women’s clothing store, where several women with cognitive disabilities work in customer service, administration and stocking. This is extremely popular with staff and customers alike.
The third prize went to the Stop Market supermarket in Netanya. This store employs over a dozen people with physical, cognitive and mental disabilities from the Arab sector, and provides them with equal salaries and job benefits as the rest of their employees.

Leading up to the event, over a million people were exposed to this initiative through various media platforms and the event itself was covered by many Israeli news outlets.

We hope that this event will help remove the stigma of employing people with disabilities, and that we can play a role in helping to create a society which is inclusive and equal for all.