Bar-Ilan’s response to “the wages of war is to do all in its power to aid the disabled veteran and, indeed, all of our people who have suffered severe emotional and psychological dislocation as a result of conflict”, declared university president Emanuel Rackman, as he announced the establishment of the Yitzchak Perlman Chair of Music Therapy, at the university.
Speaking at the recent annual meeting in New York of the American Board of Overseers of the University, whose main campus is in Ramat Gan outside of Tel Aviv, he declared that the Chair in honor of the world-famed-Israeli violinist who has triumphed over his own disability, would be inaugurated shortly as an integral part of Bar-Ilan’s School of Music.
The courses to be offered, Rackman said, would be directed toward “soothing the unquiet breast of the ever-increasing numbers of the emotionally disturbed as a result of tensions generated by war and acts of terrorism.”
The relative newness of the musical therapy field, especially in its adaptation from the U.S. and Europe to the local Israeli scene, has resulted in arapidly growing corps of professionals who actively practice in various settings throughout Israel. In clinics, community health centers and schools, more than 100 musical therapists work with diverse Israeli populations to help the disabled function more successfully.
The Yitzchak Perlman Chair will sponsor workshops and seminars for musical therapists, psychologists, teachers, geriatric workers, hospital personnel. A series of seminars is also being planned for parents and families of the distressed or disabled.
Rackman disclosed that more than 50 wheelchairbound veterans of the war in Lebanon are currently attending classes at Ramat Gan, and that to facilitate their getting about the campus, the university has constructed the Derech Hagiborim (the Heroes’ Road) to make all of Bar Ilan’s installations, readily accessible. The Heroes’ Road includes an entire network of building approach ramps and special parking facilities for the physically handicapped.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
