arts & life
mu s i c
Maestro And
Humanitarian
Violinist Itzhak Perlman plans to make inclusive
changes with his Genesis Prize earnings.
Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman
JNS.org
I
n his book To Heal a Fractured
World, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
recalls how renowned Israeli
American violinist, conductor and
pedagogue Itzhak Perlman came onto
the stage at Lincoln Center in New
York City to play a violin concerto —
presumably something he had done
many times before.
But as Perlman sat down to play this
time in 1995, one of the strings on his
violin broke. The audience assumed
that Perlman would have to find
another violin or another string for the
one he was using, delaying the concert.
Instead, Perlman waited a moment,
closed his eyes and signaled for the
conductor to begin.
He played the entire concerto on just
three strings.
Afterwards — following a standing
ovation — Perlman spoke.
“Sometimes,” he said, “it is the art-
ist’s task to find out how much music
you can still make with what remains.”
That story, retold by Israeli Knesset
Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein during a
ceremony held at the Knesset on June
22, was meant to encapsulate the mes-
sage that “we have to make the world
a better place with what we have,”
Edelstein said.
Perlman performing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) hands the Genesis Prize to Israeli-American
violinist Itzhak Perlman on June 23.
On June 23 in Jerusalem, Perlman
received the 2016 Genesis Prize, an
award that honors individuals who
have attained excellence in their profes-
sional fields, have made a significant
contribution to humanity and serve as
an inspiration to others through their
dedication to Jewish values and the
State of Israel.
The annual prize, a partnership
of the State of Israel, the Jewish
Agency for Israel and the Genesis
Prize Foundation, carries a $1 million
award, which Perlman said he will
use primarily to invest in projects that
foster greater integration of people
with disabilities into Israeli and North
American societies. Perlman, who con-
tracted polio at age 4, relearned how to
walk with crutches and often performs
seated.
The Knesset event on June 22, which
in addition to honoring Perlman,
highlighted the work Israel is doing to
integrate people with disabilities into
society, discussed integration challenges
and plans for improvement. In recent
years, the Israeli legislature has become
a leader in the field of integration of
people with disabilities. In 1998, the
Knesset passed the Equal Rights for
People with Disabilities Law. Today, the
Knesset employs 20 individuals with
special needs in various roles.
Recently, the Knesset held a gather-
ing of heads of various government
ministries and departments to discuss
ways to make the legislative body more
accessible to people with special needs,
Edelstein said. A similar conference is
planned with leading business execu-
tives to make sure the Israeli economy
“can be accessible to all of our citizens.”
Disability rights activist and commen-
tator Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president
of the RespectAbility organization,
said that it is a primary Jewish value to
respect people with disabilities.
“Moses had a speech impediment,”
she said. “He talked to God and said he
should not be the leader because of his
disability. And yet, God chose Moses.
Aaron was like an accommodation for
him … Someone with a disability might
need someone without a disability to
partner with him, but the utmost can be
achieved.”
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan
Sharansky said he grew up when being
Jewish was a “disability” in and of itself.
“We knew nothing about our
Jewishness, our tradition or history,
nothing about our religion, but we
knew very well we were Jewish because
it was written on the ID of our parents
and all the conversations at home were
about restrictions,” Sharansky said at the
Knesset, noting that in the former Soviet
Union, Jews could not learn certain sub-
jects or hold certain jobs.
“The message from our parents was
that because you were born with this
disability called Judaism, you must be
the best in the class — the best at phys-
ics or music or chess — that is the way
to survive,” Sharansky said.
“[Perlman’s] story of overcoming
extraordinary personal challenges to
excel as one of the world’s greatest musi-
cians and humanitarians is so reflective
of the inherent strength of the Jewish
character,” said Stan Polovets, chairman
and co-founder of the Genesis Prize
Foundation.
Perlman, who was born in Israel,
said he is “proud to be an Israeli” and
noted that while the Jewish state has
taken many positive steps to include and
empower people with disabilities, “there
is still work to be done.”
Jay Ruderman, president of the
Ruderman Family Foundation, which
prioritizes the issue of disability rights
and has worked to improve accessibil-
ity in Israel over the last 12 years, said
inclusion laws in Israel are solid, but are
often not enforced.
Further, there are barriers created in
Israel by attitudes toward people with
disabilities, which make it difficult for
individuals with special needs to achieve
their full potential, Perlman said.
“People with talent are seen through
the lens of their disability, rather than
ability,” he said. “Society stands to lose
from this unfulfilled potential. Don’t
look at that person who cannot walk or
talk. Ask: What can you do?”
Perlman said he will use his $1 mil-
lion prize money — which is amplified
by matching funds that raise the total
to $3 million — to improve access and
infrastructure and change the public’s
attitude. He noted that some changes
might require legislation, while others
will center on educational campaigns.
For example, he envisions an education-
al program for architects and interior
designers that would show them what
it is like for a person in a wheelchair to
maneuver in a closed space.
As a maestro, Perlman has traveled
all over the world. He said that he has
encountered countless hotels with one
or no accessible room.
“That does not work for me,” Perlman
said. “We have to have a way of life so
we don’t have to worry about what, if
anything, is accessible. I want to be able
to go to a concert and know I can get in
there. I don’t want to have to call ahead.
This is a goal and a dream, and I hope
one day it will come true.
“This is not charity work,” he added.
“Israel is a small country. Its strength is
the talent of the Jewish people. We must
cultivate every citizen’s potential.”
Mizrahi said that she is among those
who are hopeful that through the
Genesis Prize, which was granted to
former New York City mayor Michael
Bloomberg in 2014 and actor Michael
Douglas in 2015, Perlman will play an
even greater role in changing this reality.
“You are an advocate for those whose
bodies are disabled but whose spir-
its never are,” Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu told Perlman in
his speech at the June 23 prize event. “I
think you are a source of inspiration for
those without special needs, because it
tells us what we can achieve if we choose
to overcome our disabilities.”
*
July 14 • 2016
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