‘Israel Guide Dog Centre teaches the world what Israel’s values are’

If we want people to have a better understanding of Israel, we need to share its stories.

This was the advice of broadcaster Rob Rinder, who was speaking at an annual fundraiser for the Israel Guide Dog Centre UK on Wednesday evening.

The TV personality told the audience in Finchley, north-west London: “One of the challenges we have faced this dark year has been teaching people who we are in a world which increasingly doesn’t want to hear.”

Rinder said that instead of saying: “Here are the facts”, we should say: “’Let me tell you a story. This is the story of what the Israel Guide Dog Centre does.’ It shows the world how we treat those who are suffering.

“When someone asks: ‘What is Israel at its heart?’, I have my answer – it’s the Israel Guide Dog Centre. [These dogs] teach the world what our values are.”

The centre, south of Tel Aviv, was founded in 1991 to support people who are blind, visually impaired and disabled. As well as training guide dogs, the centre also trains emotional support and PTSD dogs.

In Israel, 25,000 people are registered as blind, and 15 per cent of people who have been in the IDF now have permanent eye injuries, said Rinder.

Since October 7, more than 5,000 soldiers have been diagnosed with PTSD, as well as many people from the kibbutzim which came under attack from Hamas terrorists and survivors of the Nova music festival.

Danny, who was visiting from Israel with his guide dog, Rolly, lost his sight 40 years ago fighting in Lebanon, when a bomb exploded nearby. He spent three months in hospital, but doctors were unable to save his sight.

Now in his 50s, Danny said: “At the start, it was very hard. I just couldn’t accept the blindness. I had great hopes of having surgery and getting my sight back.”

After accepting that his vision wouldn’t return, he resolved “to continue my life”, saying: “I didn’t want to give up. I thought: ‘What more can I do for society in Israel?’ So, I learnt braille and how to use a white cane.’”

But it was only when he got his first guide dog three years later that he rediscovered his independence. “Until then, I was always being guided by someone. When I took a bus for the first time with a guide dog, I felt freedom. I do everything I can by myself. I use the bus and the tram. I collect the grandkids from school and go for ice-cream.”

An avid runner, cyclist and skier, Danny went on to take a master’s and work in the office of the Israeli prime minister. He later became a social worker, supporting war veterans.

Danny paid tribute to Martin Segal, the executive director of the Israel Guide Dog Centre UK, who passed away in January, aged 58. “I was in the UK a few years ago and I met Martin. I felt a special connection with him and wanted to come back here to think about Martin and what he did for the centre.”

The only internationally accredited guide dog programme in Israel and the Middle East and a member of the International Guide Dog Federation, the centre supports people of all faiths and backgrounds. “Blindness doesn’t discriminate,” said Lisa Baron Haet, the charity’s international liaison, who had also flown in from Israel.

The centre’s dogs are currently supporting nearly 50 people who have PTSD, she said. “Nightmares go away or become less frequent as their dog is sleeping with them. One person who hadn’t been out for a year started to go out. Another client managed to go to a café and their next goal is to go to the beach.”

Rinder, who was presented with a certificate for a puppy sponsored in memory of Martin, said: “More than anything else, these guide dogs represent life, Chai, simcha. They are the difference between joy and despair.”

Chair Jon Benjamin called on supporters to consider sponsoring a puppy, promising them that they would receive regular “pupdates”. He said: “If you want to help people who are damaged or have trauma, this is wonderful way to do it.”

Money raised from the event will go towards funding a section of the new veterinary centre at the IGDC in memory of Martin.

The evening closed with singing from the Immanuel College primary school choir.