William Shatner (Kirk) will visit Israel and Jordan to assist in raising money for therapeutic riding centers for handicapped children - a cause with which he has also been involved in the United States.

Arutz Sheva reported on Shatner's planned visit to the Middle East, which the Jewish actor said he hoped would create cooperation among Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs from the Hashemite Kingdom in Jordan. "What better way to create dialogue than by helping handicapped children from different countries feel good about themselves?" he asked.

The Jewish National Fund is trying to raise $10 million for facilities to use riding as therapy for children with physical, emotional and mental disabilities. There is already one such center at Kibbutz Grofit that runs the length of the Israeli school year. Shatner holds a charity horse show every year to support children's charities and breeds horses at a farm in Kentucky.

Shatner's television series Boston Legal wraps its 2005-6 season on Tuesday night with a guest appearance by Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine). ABC has already renewed the series for a third season. His animated film Over the Hedge opens this weekend, featuring other voice talent such as Bruce Willis and Allison Janney. The Internet Movie Database has details.

And an article from Shatner's native Canada, The Globe and Mail, noted that Shatner is the celebrity chief executive officer of Toronto-based CORE Digital Pictures, which has been hired by Disney to animate The Wild and has several other films in the works.

Shatner voiced a character in The Wild and said he believes that film will become a calling card for CORE, adding that "the opportunity is enormous" for independent animated studios and with CORE, "it can be done better and for less" than by DreamWorks Animation or other large studios.

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