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Since 1962, Canadian Friends of AKIM – Israel Association for the Mentally Handicapped has operated projects for the benefit of the more than 35,000 people with intellectual disabilities and their families in Israel.
About Canadian Friends of AKIM
Since 1962, Canadian Friends of AKIM – Israel Association for the Mentally Handicapped has operated projects for the benefit of the more than 35,000 people with intellectual disabilities and their families in Israel.
Canadian Friends of AKIM exists to:
- Provide support and services for people with intellectual disabilities and their families in Israel through AKIM Israel
- Promote the good work of AKIM Israel in Canada
- Encourage collaboration between Canadians and AKIM Israel
- Foster the spirit of an inclusive Israeli society
AKIM Around the World

Role of Canadian Friends of AKIM
Under the rules of the Canada Revenue Agency, Canadian Friends of AKIM has an agency agreement with AKIM Israel whereby AKIM Israel operates projects on behalf of Canadian Friends of AKIM. Our Charitable number is: 84484 6964 RR 0001
Our role is to fund projects which support the inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in Israel. We have supported projects to:
- Help families with extra costs associated with a disability
- Provide guidance to parents
- Assist families to relocate from areas affected by attacks or natural disasters
- Train for jobs
- Learn Jewish traditions
- Participate in the Israeli Defense Force
- Access technology
- Provide leisure and recreation programs
- Receive specialized dental treatment
AKIM Israel
AKIM is the Israeli national organization for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Founded in 1951, AKIM Israel works to realize the rights, promote a better quality of life, and improve the welfare of some 35,000 people with intellectual disabilities and approximately 140,000 family members and legal guardians. AKIM operates through 65 branches in 88 municipalities nationwide, managed by parents and volunteers in the Jewish and Arab sectors.
Since 1951, the government and people of Israel have looked to AKIM to provide care, advocacy, support and education to children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families. AKIM works in all corners of Israel and is the largest provider of programs and services for people with an intellectual disability and their families.
AKIM Israel’s vision is to make Israeli society a better place for people with intellectual disabilities and their families: a respecting, warm and accepting society that allows everyone to develop to be the best they can be, respecting differences and valuing diversity.
AKIM Israel strives for the “inclusion” of people with intellectual disabilities in their communities in all aspects of life. AKIM offers legal advocacy through parental and self-advocacy leadership. In partnership with the Welfare Ministry and local authorities, AKIM programs address community living issues, vocational programs, work in the free market, army service and national service, kindergartens and after-school activities, enrichment activities, recreational programs, summer camps, dental care services, and more.
As an indication of AKIM’s stature, it has benefitted from the leadership of outstanding Israeli leaders. Their current chair is Rabbi Dr. Benyamin (Benny) Lau. Rabbi Lau is well-known as a community leader, activist, author, and public speaker. In assuming the chair, Rabbi Lau wrote, “I look at people and family members who face intellectual disabilities and see a miracle before my eyes. Many human beings who face a complex reality tend to converge into their life experience and fortify themselves within it. AKIM volunteers chose the opposite. They did not choose to be parents, siblings, or deal with mental and developmental disabilities, but to be public messengers and lead society to a better and more inclusive place.”
Rabbi Lau was preceded as chair by Admiral (ret.) Ami Ayalon, the Head of the Center for Democracy and National Security at the Israel Democracy Institute. He is a former Director of the Israel Security Agency (the Shin Bet) and a former commander of Israel’s Navy. He has served as a cabinet minister and a member of the Knesset. Admiral Ayalon wrote, “If we Israelis want to preserve and strengthen our democracy, we’ll have to harness the values of inclusion, justice, and humanism that AKIM embodies.”
For more information about AKIM Israel click here.
Leadership | Our Board of Directors