ZDVO at Emanuel: If you are alive, LIVE
Yonatan Amsalem – Year 10
In our Jewish Studies lesson today, we had the privilege of listening to a very special guest speaker, Ido Lazan, who shared his experience of overcoming adversity, his bravery and resilience, as he described his journey to recovery following his near fatal injury, in a terrorist attack in Tel-Aviv, January 2016. Ido, like many Israelis, was enjoying a beer at an outdoor café/pub in central Tel-Aviv, celebrating a friend’s birthday. Suddenly, the street was filled with the sound of gunfire, as people reacted with shock and horror. Ido was shot in the chest and his upper leg, severing his femoral artery, leaving him at imminent risk of bleeding to death. Luckily, many civilians jumped to his aid and saved his life.
Ido then shared his experience of hospitalisation and rehabilitation. He emphasised the importance of life and gave an excellent analogy that resonated with me. When your life has been threatened and you are posed with giving up or moving forward, there is only black and white. It is as if you are in between a “Mountain and a Black Hole”. If you choose to climb the mountain, you will be rewarded with positivity, however if you fall into the black hole, it is near impossible to recover. Despite his long and painful recovery, Ido reflected on some simple pleasures such as the taste of a drop of water and the joy of being able to breathe without tubes.
In the following months, Ido decided to revisit the bar where he had been injured during the attack, and to finish the celebration that was interrupted. Whilst Ido was heading home, he noticed a small store for sale right by where he had been shot and he bought it without a defined plan for its use. Prior to the terrorist attack, Ido had redeveloped a passion for fitness which informed his decision to create his own gym in that store, fittingly known as “Bulletproof”. Today, Ido has over 250 employees in his fitness company and is well-known in Israel.
Ido’s experience has inspired him to help others and he devotes time and energy to assisting injured soldiers at Beit Halochem (ZDVO) with their rehabilitation through fitness. In recognition of Ido’s special qualities and, in his honour, his table at the bar where he was injured is permanently reserved for him alone.
