They say that Israelis are like the prickly pear . . .

They say that Israelis are like the prickly pear – rough on the outside, but sweet on the inside. The many Israelis in the business of protecting elders, however, are sweet all they way through. The compassion and empathy that drives their work is abundant and inspirational.

The first day of our conference began with a greeting from Tel Aviv's mayor, Ron Huldai, and presentations from Tel Aviv's Health, Human Services & Welfare Administration. We spoke with social workers, lawyers, doctors, and administrators who provide services to the "helpless," defined by law as those unable to care for their basic needs, health, or safety. From these presentations we learned that Israel's elderly suffer from the same abuse as those in Los Angeles and that the involved agencies respond with similar actions and limitations.

Though Israel's laws protecting the helpless are comprehensive, our initial impression was that social workers provide the most assistance, problem solving, and support for the helpless. This impression finds grounding in the overwhelming percentage of Israeli social workers participating in the conference.

After the presentations and discussions, the delegation visited Café Europa – one of the four in Israel – which provides a weekly social event for Holocaust survivors. (The Israelis graciously and repeatedly credited Los Angeles for creating Café Europa). At the Café, the delegation members danced and talked with the survivors. We heard beautiful musical performances from talented elders, and left feeling moved and invigorated.

Our day ended with dinner and a performance at Nalaga'at, a non-profit organization dedicated to offering a stage and employment to deaf-blind, deaf, and blind people. We dined at Nalaga'at's restaurant, BlackOut, where the servers are blind and the diners eat in complete darkness. As we ate dinner with the assistance of our wonderful servers, we were given the invaluable experience of being blind for one hour. The actors in the after-dinner performance at Nalaga'at's theater were deaf-blind. We were amazed at how the performers were able to rely completely on touch and vibration to live, communicate, and work.

If the members of the Los Angeles delegation had before this day been losing site of the reasons we work to protect the elderly and disabled, the Israelis succeeded in reminding us.