New rule: It's alright to restrain if the victim is disabled

Doron Almog may have won the 2016 Israel Prize and amassed a horde of friends in high places. But I have photos of the bedrooms in the Jerusalem branch of ADI, a large, closed institution for children and young adults with disabilities in which he plays a lead role. They are damning.

A notice was circulated last week by the Director General of Israel's Ministry of Welfare. It's entitled (my translation from the source Hebrew) "Tools and procedures for identification, prevention and response/remedy for challenging, dangerous behavioral situations in facilities of the Disabilities Administration" 

Dated May 23, 2022 and downloadable (in Hebrew) from here, the circular formally declares the use of the "crib-beds" in which Almog's people have been been enclosing ADI's institutionalized residents to be banned.

I made an unannounced visit to ADI Jerusalem (then known as Aleh Jerusalem) in 2018. See "Making history: After the raid". During that visit, we were shown beds, one of them occupied, that are best described as "cages". The person in the bed below was photographed at 12:30 pm, the middle of the day. 

2018: Bed-cages in use at the ADI Jerusalem institutional residence

This is not to say that the Ministry of Welfare's other regulations were welcomed by defenders of the human rights of people with disabilities. In fact those with whom I was in touch were infuriated. Disturbingly wide discretion is granted to staff members in institutions to restrain the movement of residents. The regulations say they may do so "only in unusual instances, and only to prevent actual, immediate danger to a person or to another and only to the extent that is required for that purpose."

Included specifically in that carte blanche is the use of hand splints for 45 minutes; fastening to chairs during meals; and locking up and isolating residents in a "protection room" for up to an hour at a time. 

These measures may be used on anyone with disabilities aged 6 years or more, who engages in "challenging, dangerous behavior" (again my translation of the Hebrew).

The new regulations will go into effect in six months from now. Among other reasons, this is to enable institutions to prepare for their implementation.

Here's what Adv. Naama Lerner of the Movement for Independence (a group I mentioned in this earlier post a week ago) wrote in reaction to the new regulations (again my translation from the source Hebrew):

"I urge you to read this circular with great interest. It permits harsh restrictions on people in institutions with "challenging behavior". It permits fastening to a chair, isolation, tying up, in very pretty words and with 'professionalism'. For now, this is for your information. In the future we intend to act forcefully against these regulations."

Too bad all those well intentioned donors to ADI institutions have never seen these bed-cages.

Aleh vs ADI

Here's my update re the slugfest underway at Aleh. And my bet is it's the only update you'll get!

Neither side is clarifying what is going on or why. For now, I can only add that Doron Almog and his cronies have staked out the Aleh branches in the Negev and Jerusalem as well as the "Neuro Orthopedic Rehabilitative Hospital" alongside Aleh Negev which is slated for completion in 2021. 

He posts his PR material on a Facebook page under the name ADI - Advancement of People with Disabilities and Rehabilitation for All. From there he links to a new website: ADI-Israel.org 

Rabbi Marmorstein, his apparent adversary, has staked out Aleh Bnei Brak and Aleh Gedera. As he states here https://aleh.org/branches/

"The rehabilitative village in the Negev (“Nahalat Eran”) and the residential center in Jerusalem are no longer part of the ALEH network and have join forces under a new organization named ‘ADI.’ For more information about ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran and ADI Jerusalem, please use the following contact information [followed by a list of phone numbers in Israel, USA, Canada and UK]

On his Hebrew Facebook page, Marmorstein also claims to have opened a "new campus" which, he boasts, was recently visited by a couple of dignitaries from Ariel University. Here is my English translation of his report of that tour. There is no official translation anywhere of that since Aleh no longer seems to have an English language Facebook page:

"The CEO of Ariel University, Mr. Yoram Shai and our dear friend, Yehudah Drasinover, the Internal Controller of the University visited the new campus of the "Aleh" chain, In the course of the tour they saw up close the devoted care and huge investment in the dear children.
Yoram Shai said on the tour that the registered patent of Aleh is the professionalism and the faith in the special child. 
From Aleh comes the call to the entire world to do everything to improve the quality of life of everyone who is dependent on others 
Rabbi Yehuda Marmorstein told them that this is an emotional day for him and the beginning of cooperation between the "Aleh" chain and Ariel University."

The post elicited one comment from someone who asked: "Where is this new campus located?"

No response from Aleh.

However today Aleh's Facebook page mentions some "emotional installation" created by resident children which is situated "at the entrance to the new Aleh campus in Bnei Brak". No further details were provided.

The above report did not appear anywhere in English. That's because there no longer is an English Aleh Facebook page. It was removed last week when Doron Almog announced that he was taking over two of the Aleh branches - Aleh Negev and Aleh Jerusalem - and renaming them ADI - Advancement of People with Disabilities and Rehabilitation for All

Shortly afterwards an English language Facebook page under that name was posted: https://www.facebook.com/adiisraelrehab/

There he offers a long winded version of the split, his own accomplishments and a fantasmical summary of his institution's accomplishments replete with catch phrases like "multiple disabilities and complex medical issues", "fully inclusive", "to reach their fullest potential", and all the usual Aleh jargon.

I fear that this slug-fest may evolve into a tug of war over residents. Each camp may resort to more aggressive "recruitment" tactics to enlarge its number of residents and government funding. Marmorstein has been known to to call at least one parent urging him to hand over his child - that was related on an Aleh PR video clip!

Back at home, we have finally hooked up with a circle of SCN2A families In Israel. 

I had been hunting for just this sort of support ever since we received the news of Haya's genetic mutation in August, 2019. I found them via the global support group about which I've written in the past.

We are six families scattered around Israel and I've already exchanged a flurry of Whatsapps with them in the 24 hours since joining. We plan to have a Zoom gathering tomorrow night. 

Their children are all much younger than Haya and I hope when they hear how profoundly disabled she is they won't be horrified. I'll try to reassure them with the knowledge that medicine is better equipped today to treat our children's symptoms than it was 24 years ago when our nightmare with Haya began.

Anybody interested in joining can contact me at frimet.roth@gmail.com. for details.