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Jerusalem Art School Fosters Design Talent among Students with Disabilities
(JTA) Andrew Tobin - Asaf Ventura was seriously injured during a 2002 mission with his army unit in the West Bank. "I remember in the hospital thinking, 'I'm only 22 and I've lost my body and my looks. I can't do any of the things I used to do.'" After years of intensive and painful rehabilitation, at the age of 28 he entered the prestigious Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Now 35, he says, "As a designer...I learned I have an advantage. My work comes from my feelings, and I know what it is to suffer and to have a disability. I can use technology to create things that other people wouldn't think of." About a decade ago, Bezalel started a class in industrial design for people with special needs. Over the years, students have created dozens of products: costumes that encourage children to move during physical therapy; air-cushioned prosthetic legs with superhero designs; fashionable clothes that people with limited range of movement can easily get on and off. For his final project, Ventura built a floating gym for people rehabilitating from injuries. Wounded soldiers at the army center in Haifa where he did more than four years of intensive rehabilitation helped him test his designs in the training pool.