Honored: 2000
Location: Israel
Joseph Luttenberg has been Israel’s dominant
figure in the field of disabled sports during
the second half of the twentieth century. Most
notably, he has headed the Israeli delegation
to the Paralympic Games since 1960 and, beginning
with its construction in 1974, has been director
of the Beit Halochem Center in Tel Aviv.
Luttenberg was severely wounded in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
An original member of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization and the first
chairman of its Sports Committee, Luttenberg became ZDVO’s national chairman
in 1987, a post he continues to hold with the now 50,000-member organization.
Luttenberg was the visionary behind the concept of the Beit Halochem rehabilitation
centers. Today, in addition to the original facility in Tel Aviv, there are
state-of-the-art centers in Haifa and Jerusalem. Together, the Beit Halochem
centers serve nearly 10,000 veterans and their families.
As national chairman of the Israel Sports Association
for the Disabled, Luttenberg led every Israeli
team of competitors to the Paralympic Games since
1960. And,
he was personally responsible for preparing Israel’s Paralympic teams
for 17 years. Nearly half the 1,000 ISAD athletes who vie in 14 competitive
sports are disabled veterans. Israel’s remarkable success at the Paralympics
is attributable to ISAD and Beit Halochem’s outstanding training facilities.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually, honoring those individuals
who have made significant contributions to the State of Israel and society
through sports.
