LOTEM- Making Nature Accessible was established in 1993 by Amos Ziv following a moving encounter with a group of visually impaired teenagers hiking in the Israeli countryside. Amos realized that in order to provide these hikers with special needs with the maximum benefit of activities in a rural environment, suitable guidance and more defined trails were essential. Amos enlisted the support of wounded IDF veteran Sorin Herscho, a hero of the 1976 rescue of hostages in Entebbe, who would become the chairman of LOTEM.