For Israelis with disabilities, two divergent paths

In Ilay's cafe, via Facebook

Sometimes we are blindsided by uplifting stories about people with disabilities in Israel.

It's important to circulate them, rare though they are, if only to note that Israel is not a desert of insensitivity and exclusion when it comes to our citizens with disabilities.

And here's a link to the (Hebrew-language) tale, via Israel's national TV news, of the mother and brother of one such person, Ilay, from whom we can learn about love, understanding and true inclusion.

If the Hebrew is beyond you, it's the the story of Shulamit Regev, a widowed single mother of twin sons, one of whom has recently enlisted in the army. The other is autistic and non-verbal. The boys have a very close and loving relationship. We are shown clips of them interacting as children and in real time. Then we are told of a cafe that the mother purchased and runs (as "Ilay's Place") where her autistic son works and hosts the customers in his uniquely welcoming way.

We see him in the kitchen demonstrating impressive culinary skills and hugging and kissing each and every customer in his gentle, unintrusive way.

But to inject a dose of harsh reality comes news of the death of Effie Ben Baruch, a resident of a closed institution for people with disabilities.

Cognitively impaired, Effie was allegedly killed by one of his caregivers in the Haifa facility called "Ramat Haifa". This is a link to a Hebrew news report about the tragedy along with photos from the protest rally held opposite that institutions days afterwards:

The poster reads: "Who Will Care for our Children When We are No Longer Here!"

A brief English report ("Disabled man dies after allegedly being beaten by caregiver", Times of Israel, July 26, 2019) says:

A disabled man died early Friday at a hospital in Haifa, two weeks after his caregiver allegedly beat him and caused him severe head wounds, Hebrew-language media reported. 

Efraim Ben Baruch, 29, was a resident in a care center for mentally disabled people. Shortly after arriving at the Bnai Zion hospital his condition deteriorated, with doctors declaring him brain-dead. 

The caregiver, Mohammad Khateeb, 19, from the city of Tamra, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of abusing a helpless individual. His remand was extended by six days. 

After Ben Baruch’s death, police said they were upgrading the suspicion against Khateeb to murder. A special investigation team was set up to assist in the probe of the incident. Police also said they would ask the court on Sunday to further extend his remand.

In court last week, an investigator showed judge Rivka Fuchs videos of the alleged abuse, saying there were “11-12 different episodes on the same day. His interaction with the victim is violent.”

Khateeb’s attorney had denied that the death was caused by her client, saying that Ben Baruch was taken to a hospital in the evening while he had suffered the wounds in the morning.

“There was independent harm,” she said, without elaborating.

A further response to Effie's death has been organized by Bizchut, Israel's Center for the Rights of People with Disabilities (my translation from Hebrew).

Sunday August 18, 2019, between the hours of 10:00 and 15:00, we will be protesting opposite the offices of the Ministries of Welfare and Treasury on Kaplan Street, the Government Offices Quarter in Givat Ram, Jerusalem, demanding a halt to the violence in institutions and hostels for people with disabilities and demanding their transfer in an orderly and respectful manner to independent lives with the personal assistance that they require before the next incident of murder occurs!

I plan to be there. If you're in Israel, I hope you will too.