After 30 years, photos of an exceptional meeting between the  Rebbe and injured IDF veterans have recently been discovered. During the 1976 visit, the Rebbe addressed the veterans in Hebrew and greeted each one individually, shaking their hands and conversing with them.

The photos are set to be released in the forthcoming DVD from JEM featuring senior Israeli military officials. The video is funded by Rabbi Yossel Gutnick, the Rebbe’s emissary for the integrity of Eretz Yisrael.

At this event, the Rebbe spoke warmly to the soldiers, and expressed his opinion that they should not be called “handicapped,” but “exceptional” – that their physical condition illustrates that Hashem endowed them with special powers which enable them to show others how the spirit is more important than the body.