 |
| The Knesset chamber |
Yesterday's Maariv revealed that ten years ago Israel's Ministries of Health and of Welfare appointed a committee of experts to submit a report on the problem of residences for people with disabilities.
However, they ignored the conclusions reached by those experts.
One of the solutions suggested by the experts was for Israel to transition from institutions to independent living within the community. It recommended that no more than six residents live in each apartment.
Bizchut, Israel's leading advocacy organization for people with disabilities, has now publicized for the first time its conclusions regarding that report.
It discovered that, as of today, a decade later, those recommendations have not been implemented. Large, closed institutions continue to operate and hundreds of people with disabilities are kept in them against their wishes and without the possibility of living independently in the community. Many others must live with their parents.
Tommy Barchako is one such young adult - with CP - who rejected the Ministry of Welfare's placement in a closed institution.
He says (my translation from Hebrew):
"The services that I can receive in the community are very limited. They [the Ministry - FR] push people like me into institutions. That solution is unacceptable to me because there are institutions that force you to live a life that you don't choose and that doesn't interest you. But the State has no other solution to offer me."In response to the Maariv piece, the Ministry of Welfare reportedly stated that
"...only 16,500 people with disabilities live in institutions [in Israel] - all of their own choice and according to their wishes and the wishes of their families".For anyone unfamiliar with the reasons for the growing outrage among people with disabilities and their families, below is a CCTV clip that captures flagrant abuse of one such resident:
On the two WhatsApp groups to which I belong devoted to activism for people with disabilities, passions have recently been ignited. The video clip above and the latest abuse scandal in Neve Ha-Irus have been the catalysts.
Everyone is well aware that ours is an uphill battle. We lack large numbers and influential allies.
The list I've compiled below highlights those deficiencies. These are the names of government ministers, assorted lawmakers and various officials who have paid official visits to the institutions of ADI/Aleh in the past two years. While there, they posed for photo ops and lavished praise on Israel's largest chain of closed institutions for those with disabilities, ranging in age from infancy to adulthood.
They spewed cliches much like those below courtesy of MK Etty Atria Boston who last week paid her second (!) visit in two years to ADI Negev. (The translation to English is again mine.)
You are doing truly sacred work here at ADI, work that deserves great recognition and appreciation. As a Member of Knesset, I promise to continue to serve as an ambassador for enhanced disability inclusion and care for the benefit of ADI's residents and all people with disabilities across Israel.
The visitors
- Netherlands Ambassador to Israel Hans Docter
- Yuli Edelstein, Minister of Health
- President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin
- Yoav Galant, Minister of Education
- Omer Yankelevich, Minister of Diaspora Affairs
- Michael Biton, Minister of Strategic Affairs
- State Comptroller of Israel Matanya Engelman
- Ariel University's Chief Executive, Yoram Shay
- Member of Knesset Haim Katz
- Member of Knesset Bezalel Smotrich
- Member of Knesset Etty Attia - twice!
No comments:
Post a Comment