In the last year more than 1,200 injured heroes have joined our organization.

Heroes like 24-year-old Haran Yaffe. Here is his story.

They were headed back to Israel when the screaming whine of an anti-tank missile suddenly pulsed through the air. Most of the men were able to scramble out of the tank in time. Not Haran. He took a direct hit, his body torn by shrapnel.

Haran Yaffe, an Israeli who loves his country with a passion, proudly served his time in the Israel Defense Forces as a combatant in the Engineering Corps and was discharged as a Staff Sergeant.

An energetic young man, Haran was filled with a joyous love of life and music. His singing career was on the rise, and he’d begun recording his first album. He’d completed just one song when he was called up during the Second Lebanon war.

Haran went into combat and four days before the war ended, he was trapped in an armoured personnel carrier when it was hit by Hezbollah fire. He was helicoptered to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, where doctors fought desperately to save his life. Haran was considered to be the most critically wounded soldier to survive the Second Lebanon War.

As Haran lay in a coma, his family and friends requested that his song "Boker Tel Aviv: be played over and over on national radio. They hoped it would somehow break through the fog of unconsciousness in which he lay. When Haran finally woke up, he heard his song and despite the pain that ravaged his body, a beautiful smile broke out on his face.

Today, Haran is struggling to regain the use of his right hand. Shrapnel had penetrated his right elbow, cutting nerves. It also ripped through his pelvis, shattering vital organs. He has no feeling in his left foot, and the mobility in his left leg is restricted. Several surgeries later, Haran’s recovery continues. Haran still has his dreams and is fighting hard to overcome his injuries and pain. He is able to do so because of you.

Your generous partnership with Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel, Beit Halochem Canada makes it possible for Haran — and so many other wounded Israeli veterans and victims of terror — to get the treatment, support and help they urgently need to heal, to resume their lives, and to regain their hopes and dreams.