AKIM Programs

Culture & Leisure

AKIM promotes the realization of creative potential by creating accessible avenues which allow talents, not disabilities, to take center stage.

Theater Groups

Many people with intellectual disabilities struggle to find a platform to express their inner worlds and hidden talents.

Theater allows them to showcase their potential through artistic expression and interactive teamwork. Training includes theater games, improvisations, rehearsals, sound development, dance, styling, videography, and more.

All actors are individuals with IDD and performances showcase their personal experiences, revealing their lives in an unfiltered way. The selected plays are an important tool in changing perceptions toward people with IDD, and raise awareness of their struggles in society. AKIM runs three theater groups across Israel and we’re continuously working to reach new audiences.

Our groups include The Other Theater, Simple Dreams, and since 2019 the new Arab Theater. The actors perform for audiences in Jewish, Muslim, and Druze communities throughout the year for audiences of schoolchildren, soldiers, municipal & government employees, and more. These award winning productions create positive exposure, shining a spotlight on life with IDD, allowing audiences to see the actors for more than their disabilities.

Together in Tanach

Inclusion in Judaic Studies

An exciting project, in collaboration with 929, to make Tanach (Bible) studies accessible to people with disabilities.

The 929 Project, led by AKIM Israel Chairman Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau, is dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation centered around the issues that unite and divide. Discussion topics are anchored in, based on, or inspired by the formative text of the Hebrew Bible (Tanach) and its 929 chapters.

This remarkable joint venture offers people with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to study and gain inspiration from classic Jewish texts, carefully adapted to the cognitive level of participants.

The study group meets weekly for discussions, singing and getting to know old and new friends in a warm and engaging virtual community. Together in Tanach brings inclusion in Tanach right into homes across Israel, making this special program not only inspiring but also accessible.

Arts @ AKIM

Creativity through art enables the people we support to express themselves without words.

Art becomes their voice, expressing feelings and sharing experiences with the world. The creative process allows them to effectively communicate, despite cognitive or physical challenges, and offers a therapeutic outlet for emotions that cannot always be expressed verbally.

Painting sets an individual free from the boundaries of physical or mental limitations, offering a creative outlet for self expression. AKIM’s art workshops have helped uncover talents that may have otherwise remained dormant.

Studies suggest that participating in the arts encourages self-determination and fosters increased self-esteem. In an effort to offer participants the opportunity to create art, AKIM provides creative workshops twice weekly in each community living apartment and leisure center.

Select pieces from the vibrant and complex artwork created by participants are displayed at art exhibitions, some of which will be merchandised for the benefit of the artist.

Help AKIM give every aspiring artist the chance to succeed.

AKIM’s Programs & Services

With your support, our programs and services act to directly enrich, influence and enhance the lives of Israelis with IDD and their families. We work at the national and local levels to bring our caring person-centered approach directly into communities across Israel.