At her graduation ceremony, Yaeli saluted her commanding officer. She wore a uniform and an orange beret, and her father wiped his eyes and hoped nobody could see.
Her class – a class of young people with special needs – volunteered for the entire year on a base of the IDF National Search and Rescue Unit. They contributed as much as they could.
Within hours, Lapid’s post went viral, with thousands of likes, shares and sympathetic comments — from across the political spectrum. Among these were parents in a similar situation.
As one Facebook user, Esty Cohen, wrote:
Dear Yair, there is no pain in the world like that which you are feeling. I identify with you and with all the sorrow that emerges between your words. You have come a long way with your daughter, and now you have a little parental pride. I, too, have a child with special needs, or, as he calls it – abnormality. My son speaks and looks like any other kid, but has difficulty learning and expressing himself, and everything comes late for him. He also volunteered in the army, where everybody loved him, and he received a badge of honor. But at the end of the day, he is my child and my responsibility. I want only to encourage and strengthen you, and to wish you and your daughter happiness and success as much as is possible.
According to the Hebrew news site nrg, a few years ago, Lapid and his wife, journalist, author and photographer Lihi, made it public that their daughter, Yael, was diagnosed with autism. Lapid also talked about it during one of his many interviews, saying: “When [she] was diagnosed as autistic, my wife… fell apart. I told her then that I had finished my debate with destiny. I have no intention of crying or complaining about my miserable fate. Instead, I will do my best with Yaeli.”
Before entering politics in 2012, Lapid – son of the late journalist-turned-politician Yosef “Tommy” Lapid (and author Shulamit Lapid) was famous in Israel as a TV host, print journalist and author. Yesh Atid, which he founded, won an astounding 19 Knesset seats (out of 120) in the first election it entered, in 2013, making it the second largest party at the time. He served as finance minister until 2014.
In an interview with The Algemeiner in April 2014, Lihi spoke about how she became an advocate for the special-needs community soon after Yael, then 17, was diagnosed. At a Hebrew University conference, she said of her daughter, “I don’t know who I am without her. I don’t know what kind of person I am. I definitely don’t know what kind of adult I am. She made me the person I am.”
