Does Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times really understand what he's advocating?

Israelis running to the bomb shelters [Image Source]

It's difficult to know where to begin. 

For years, Nicholas Kristof, a renowned opinion columnist at the New York Times, has been akin to an idol for me. His op eds move me, sometimes to the verge of tears. He genuinely cares for the neglected, forgotten and desperate and proves that repeatedly. He buttresses his writing with action: projects and fundraisers that produce tangible benefits for the subjects of his pieces.

But when he tackles the current, tragic situation in Israel he misses the mark [see "The ‘Unshakable’ Bonds of Friendship With Israel Are Shaking" from May 19, 2021 and "What Your Taxes Are Paying For in Israel" from May 12, 2021]. 

And that both angers and frightens me. He is accusing Israel of war crimes and urges US sanctions. Et tu Nicholas?

My murdered daughter Malki and me, 2001

Israel is fighting a vile, ruthless and blood-thirsty enemy in Hamas. I have suffered and continue to suffer from it every single day. In 2001 Hamas operative, Ahlam Tamimi, now living free and protected by Jordan's King Abdullah II, snatched my angel, Malki, from us in the Sbarro massacre that murdered 15 men, women and children. 

Tamimi publicly bemoaned the fact that "only" eight children were among the victims [video]. She was funded, instructed, sent and is - to this day - lauded by Hamas.

That is the very enemy that Israel is again battling. And has been for decades. 

It is a terror group that stockpiles missiles and launchers in residential buildings. It does so precisely to produce the op-eds that Nicholas Kristof has been writing during this war: harsh rebukes of Israel for bombing buildings that house residents, including children. 

Just as Hamas desired for my Malki to die, so does it desire for its own children to die. How else does one interpret its decision to endanger Gazan children by effectively using them as human shields?

Kristof's other arguments are immaterial while he ignores the above reality. Because it is crucial. Israel cannot defend itself against missiles and launchers housed amongst families without endangering those families. That is what Hamas wants and has accomplished. And it has garnered invaluable, immeasurable and unprecedented support by doing so.

From influencers like Nicholas Kristof.

Towards de-institutionalization and the Neve Ha-Irus revelations

Today's blog post, like yesterday's and Sunday's, relates to the Neve Ha-Irus revelations that have just been publicized.

 
Bizchut, Israel's Advocacy Organization for People with Disabilities has now circulated the photos below. They depict scenes from the Neve Ha-Irus institution for people with disabilities. 

In case it isn't apparent, they show injuries, residents asleep on bare beds, a resident locked in a window-less room and a resident in soiled pants.

I've translated its accompanying text:

Yesterday, on the evening news program of KAN 11, an investigative report was aired about the institution, Neve Ha-Irus. The report included disturbing testimony about what is happening in that institution, which is intended to serve as a home for over 100 residents with disabilities. Sadly, this is not the first time that Bizchut is sounding the alarm about what is going on there.
Upon entering the institution you could be impressed by the beautiful exterior: flowers, small cottages, smiling staff. But behind the scenes one discovers scathing human rights violations and even injury to the residents.
It is important to emphasize: Neve Ha-Irus is only a symptom; in-community living is The Solution.
Every few months a "duty investigative report" is publicized that reveals the routine lives of institutionalized people with disabilities. They are detached from the world, some suffer neglect and in extreme cases even abuse.
This time, the focus is on Neve Ha-Irus. It is not the first time that Bizchut is exposing what happens in this institution. Over 100 residents continue living there deprived of their human rights.
Regular supervision from the Ministry of Welfare, closed circuit cameras operating 24/7, and still - complaints about what is going on in this institution do not stop flowing.
There is only one solution:
Close Neve Ha-Irus and the other institutions and construct a clear plan for transfer to in-community living!

The yellowed emphasis is mine.

More on the Neve Ha-Irus revelations

Here's a follow-up to the piece I posted yesterday: "Neve Ha-Irus in the cross-hairs of Bizchut - again".

I mentioned there was going to be a news report on Israeli TV. For those of you who missed the KAN 11 broadcast which went to air last night exposing the abuse committed by staff at Neve Ha-Irus, I have embedded it below. 

Note it's in Hebrew. If there is an English translation at some later point, I will add it here. The clip comes from YouTube. 

Warning: Some viewers may find the video clip below disturbing. Particularly when you remind yourself it is from 2021 and in Israel. 

Neve Ha-Irus in the cross-hairs of Bizchut - again

From the home page of the Neve Ha'Irus website

Tonight (Sunday) our government TV station, KAN, will air a program about an institution for people with disabilities, Neve Ha'Irus. 

The institution has already been accused of wrongdoing in the past by Bizchut, Israel's Advocacy Organization for People with Disabilities. But the abuse and neglect continued even after token changes were made in the wake of that earlier exposé. 

According to the Whatsapp group of parents and activists to which I belong, tonight's program will reveal shocking images of behind-the-scenes wrongdoing. 

This morning, one of the activists in that group shared a tweet that I have translated from the original Hebrew to English:

Another moment at @kereneubach: The disturbing routine at the institution, Neve Ha-Irus, for people with disabilities under supervision @Social_Justice. In this clip an employee pushes a resident into the "White Room" just because he interfered with her playing on her cell phone. And that's not all: pills, injuries, locking up one resident who became disabled and another who died due to negligence.
Please watch, react and share your outrage. 

The clip embedded below is online here.

And Chezi Shabbat from Bizchut, addressing the same group (my translation again) reminded us all:

When we first visited this institution [Neve ha-Irus], we were impressed with its beautiful appearance; the flowers, the small cottages, the smiling staff. But behind the scenes...? You are invited to see for yourselves. We already know: Neve Ha-Irus is not exceptional. Nobody wants to live in an institution. If you have a loved one living in this institution, Neve Ha-Irus, or in any other institution - contact us [at Bizchut]. We will do everything we can to help you transfer him/her from that institution - to a dignified life within the community.

I would presume the same comments apply to ADI/Aleh!

Meanwhile here are my previous posts, stretching back some years, about Neve Ha-Irus

• My contribution to Bizchut's forum on the Neve Ha'irus scandal (November 4, 2017)
• Aleh: Blowing smoke (February 23, 2017)
• Joining the struggle against institutionalization (February 9, 2017)
• The evils of institutionalization are now on the front burner (February 2, 2017)
• Not a Dickensian tale (December 24, 2016)