Jewish Institute for the Blind

To Light Up the Darkness. .......

The Jewish Institute for the Blind has served the blind and partially sighted children of Israel for nearly 100 years. Established in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1902, the Institute has grown into a widely respected Jerusalem landmark. The first Institute in Israel to care for the blind, the JIB has always excelled in providing special education to the exceptional child. Presently, the Institute provides a wide range of activities for education, rehabilitation, health and social welfare for the blind and visually impaired in Jerusalem and throughout the country.

Pupils from all over Israel receive maximum individual assistance from a highly trained and devoted staff of teachers, counselors and psychologists in its excellent educational and boarding facilities in Jerusalem. Between 60-90 pupils board at the Institute and the pupil-staff ratio is almost one-to-one. New immigrants have been absorbed over the years and today they constitute a high percentage of the graduates as well as productive members of society. Today, Russian and Ethiopian pupils have joined the student body and they are being warmly accepted by both students and staff.

In recent years, more and more visually impaired students have been mainstreamed into ordinary schools with a supportive staff as well as the Beit Ha'Talmid afternoon program offered by the Institute. Students from all over the Jerusalem metropolitan area are transported to the Institute two afternoons weekly and their independence is maximized with a wide range of courses. Similar afternoon programs are being sponsored by the JIB in Ashdod, Beersheva, Haifa and Tel Aviv. A Community Center for the Blind located at the Institute enables adults to use the facilities during their free afternoon and evening hours for a variety of activities including handicrafts, woodwork, home economics, sports and electricity. Summer Camps sponsored for the blind and partially sighted reinforce independent living skills. Older students are invited to an innovative camp experience located at a different venue each year. Adults from all over the country utilize the Institute's dormitory facilities in the summer months for a retreat.

Computer education for students helps to keep them abreast of current technology; screens magnify text for partially sighted students and Braille printers are available for the blind. The library of the Institute has a large selection of books in Braille or on tape for use of pupils. High school and university students have a wide choice of textbooks and they can make special requests. The recording studio and news service enable the blind throughout Israel to keep up with current events. A large collection of religious works is also available. The JIB's Pedagogic Center provides information and learning materials for educators and visually handicapped students from all over the country. A Rehabilitation Center has been founded by the JIB in partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Social Affairs. At present, 35 blind workers are profitable members of society, working primarily in assembly and bookbinding. The Institute also helps the blind with a loan fund and dental clinic.

In addition to the primary school from grades 1-8, the Technical School for the Visually Impaired aims to provide students with a wide range of subjects so that they can find the best area suited to their needs and interests. Students that attend an academic high school in Jerusalem may continue boarding at the Institute and they receive academic assistance and the moral support of the warm JIB family. All students are helped to continue their education or find suitable and fulfilling employment.

The new Sports Center at the Institute contains an indoor heated pool, an Olympic sports stadium, well equipped body building room and additional space with specialized state-of-the-art equipment for blind and multi-handicapped children and adults. In addition to the instruction of judo, gymnastics, physiotherapy and swimming at the Center, basketball and goal ball leagues are active.

The first Institute of its kind in the Jewish World. the JIB still adheres to its original protocol "to help raise a student's self esteem so that he will not depend on others for help, but will himself become a helpful member of society". Throughout its century in Jerusalem, the Institute has educated thousands of children to become dynamic, involved members of Israeli society.