The International Day of Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities is an opportunity to highlight the achievements of this population and their contributions to society, while at the same time placing the new challenges at the center of the public agenda. On the occasion of the international day, Efrat Stern, Executive Director of JDC-Israel Beyond Limitations, shared insights on the current situation and the need for full and equal integration of persons with disabilities in all areas of life.
Being Born with a Disability or Encountering it Throughout Life/ Efrat Stern
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an international event that brings together people from all over the world. The day is organized by a wide range of entities, including organizations of persons with disabilities, businesses, government agencies and individuals. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the contributions of persons with disabilities to society, to recognize their skills and achievements, and most importantly – to promote their inclusion in all areas of life: politics, society, economy and culture.
This year, this day cannot be marked without addressing people with disabilities and professionals who were murdered and injured on October 7:
Noya Dan – a 13-year-old girl on the autistic spectrum from Kibbutz Kissufim. Murdered in a Hamas attack on October 7th with her grandmother Carmela (80, a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz).
Ruth Peretz – a 17-year-old girl living with cerebral palsy, was at the Nova party during the Hamas attack on October 7th, along with her father Arik, 58.
Carmel Gat, an occupational therapist who worked with people with mental health issues in the “Hatch for Education” program. She was kidnapped from her family home in Kibbutz Be’eri in the Hamas attack on October 7. She was held captive until the end of August, when her body was discovered in a Hamas tunnel, along with 5 other abductees.
I want to dedicate this meeting to all three of them and many more with disabilities who we don’t even know were there – people with invisible disabilities.
And to this – it should also be noted:
- This year, approximately 20,000 more people were added to the community of people with disabilities (people with new disabilities).
- Approximately 70,000 residents were recognized as victims of hostilities. Of these, 9,860 people were recognized as having a degree of disability.
- Approximately 9,000 new IDF disabled people, 70% of them between the ages of 23-35, 30% with mental disabilities.
(National Insurance data, data from the Rehabilitation Division at the Ministry of Defense)
These people join approximately 1.7 million Israelis with disabilities.
The voices of people with disabilities in this war have been silenced and disappeared. Despite this population constituting 20% of our population – their needs and the complexity of their situation in this war – have been almost completely absent from the public, social and political discourse.
Examples of some of the key needs:
- Adapted emotional response
- Accessibility to a safe and secure place
- Ability to hear an alarm
- Accessibility to the temporary residence
- Adapted services in the temporary location
- Services for the family, especially for the families of the reserve soldiers
- Visual rehabilitation services – and a continuum of services
- Answers in the Arabic language
Israel Beyond Limitations has acted and is still acting in all these areas to provide an accurate, effective, and meaningful response: the most protected and accessible, alert bracelets, quiet rooms, distribution of kits, development of digital products, and more.
We are in a new era in the world of disabilities – an era in which there are two main populations (roughly divided) – people with disabilities from birth – the classic population for which we have been working in recent years, and the population of heroes – people who were injured during the war. Despite the different identities, the different status between these populations – we are working to see how the shared experience of disability can be leveraged for the benefit of the entire population in the State of Israel.
This is how the Israel Beyond Limitations Partnership has always operated and operates – based on the strengths and advantages of the population and with the understanding that investing in this population is not only our moral and ethical obligation as a society, but an investment in the future of each and every one of us and in society as a whole.
Words written by Efrat Stern, Executive Director of JDC-Israel Beyond Limitations, at a conference at the JDC organization to mark the International Day for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities.
