Interview With Pr. Reuven Feuerstein was born in Botosan, Romania, on 21 August 1921. He fled to Palestine in 1944 and started his life’s work with Holocaust children, helping them to overcome the traumas and the disabilities suffered from the Nazis. Since then he has developed a series of systems for working with children displaying a comprehensive range of difficulties – from slow learners to those who appear unaware of their surroundings.

Upon his arrival in Palestine he joined a religious kibbutz. He studied in a teaching seminary and began to work with Holocaust survivors. In 1948, with the outbreak of War of Independence, he contacted tuberculosis and was sent to Switzerland to recover. 

In Europe, Feuerstein studied advanced psychology with world famous exponents of heuristics, such as Karl Jung and Jean Piaget. He returned to Israel in 1955 with specialist qualifications, extensive theoretical knowledge and many innovative ideas relating to the best way to help the disabled youth of the new country. He established two pioneer youth villages and, 40 years later, thousands of productive citizens had been educated there. In addition, hundreds of teachers and psychologists, from all over the world, have been trained in these villages.