Talia was born in Haifa in 1983, only daughter to Maurice and Marilyn and sister to Jeremy, Benjamin and Doron.

 

She was an out-going and loving girl. From early childhood she had always been sociable, collecting numerous friends.  She lost her life on 9th March 2005, when an army ambulance skidded into her car after a visit to Jerusalem when she was on the way to college in Ariel, with a friend as passenger. Many saw her as a cheerful, confident person, who enjoyed organizing events. She had an inner-drive that swept others along with her enthusiasm.  However, her family and closest friends knew that life had not always been as easy for her as it appeared.

 

During her early childhood, she had been found to have specific learning difficulties and ADHD. Her frustration with her learning difficulties peaked when she began secondary school. At the age of twelve, she showed the first symptoms of psoriasis, a skin condition often triggered by stress, probably caused in her case by the difficulties she was having at school. 

 

Like her friends, Talia wanted to study for her matriculation exams. However, there was no suitable high school catering to her specific educational needs in her home-town, so for two and a half years she had to make a daily three-hour round trip from Haifa to Bayit-shel-Tamar school at Kibbutz Shfayim. There she learnt not only the subjects themselves but also how to concentrate as required during examinations, so being able to achieve her potential.

 

Like her peers, Talia joined the Israeli Defense Forces after leaving school - though she was discharged early when she was diagnosed as having psoriatic arthritis, a condition that occurs in nearly a quarter of cases of psoriasis. She then studied for a year at a religious seminary in the Golan Heights, enjoying making new friends and planning her life.

 

To be more pro-active and to help fellow sufferers, she represented the younger members of the Israel Psoriatic Society at a meeting of the Labour and Welfare Committee in the Knesset early in 2005.

 

At the time of her death, Talia was completing a pre-academic college programme and was hoping to be accepted to study for a first degree in social work.

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One positive result of Talia’s frustration with the traditional educational system was her great determination to fight for her and others’ rights.

It is therefore the aim of the Talia Trust to make up a little for her loss by helping children with similar problems to succeed.