What is a family? Is it immediate family, closest friends or teammates? For me it’s all of the above. Avital Kopelzadu believes family is a group of people who accept you for you are; it’s not only blood relatives. Avital and Shooki welcomed our group into their home and shared their family story with us.
Avital and Shooki together have four biological children, Netel the oldest, Mayan, Adi and Noam. They have also had four foster children who came from Biet Zinger. Biet Zinger is a group home for children ages five to eighteen who have been taken out of their home due to abuse.
Their first foster child Tayan was from Romania and wasn’t Jewish. Despite this, the family welcomed Tayan into their home and committed themselves to giving her a good education and bright future. During a parent meeting at Tayan’s school, attended by her foster parents and her biological father, her teacher praised Tayan’s work. Her biological father stated, “Who cares about good grades? She won’t amount to anything.” After this comment, Avital insisted that Tayan will “go to university, find a good job and get married.” Years later, all this was accomplished as Tayan was walked down the aisle by 3 fathers: Shooki, her father-in-law and her biological father.
Shooki is an Army veteran and works at a rehabilitation center for soldiers. For the past ten years he’s cared for and befriended a wounded Ethiopian soldier. The Ethiopian has twins who both call Shooki “Grandpa”. This gesture acknowledges Shooki as part of another family.
Family really is anyone who accepts you for who you are. Whether the family bond is among teammates, best friends or has biological connections, family is one of the most important things in the world. When asked if they would change their family, Shooki and Avital agreed they wouldn’t change a thing. The truth is that you can’t. Your family is always going to be the ones who are always there for you no matter what.
Harry Marek