14 | MAY 6 • 2021
M
ichigan Supreme
Court Justice Richard
Bernstein is now
in Israel after a nearly three-
month stay in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, doing disability
advocacy work in relation to the
Abraham Accords.
Bernstein has also been at
the center of slight controversy
after backlash to him spending
the last three months out of the
country, with some Lansing
Republicans questioning
whether he has abandoned his
Michigan domicile. Bernstein
refutes the point to the JN with
his side of the story and details
the work he’s been doing.
“I was in Dubai, and I was set
to go there for about two weeks,
and that was the plan.
” Bernstein
said. “The goal in going to
Dubai was to help be a part of
the Abraham Accords. We were
focusing on how when you have
a relationship with Israel, it ben-
efits everybody.
”
The area Bernstein was focus-
ing on is people with disabilities.
Bernstein has been blind since
birth.
“The plan was to really focus
on the idea of how people with
disabilities can bring people
together,
” Bernstein said. “When
you have people that struggle
and face challenges, it allows for
greater connections, and that
was my role.
”
Bernstein said the essence of
the effort was to allow for deep-
er learning about people with
disabilities in a way they hadn’t
learned before.
“
A lot of people in the royal
families and in influential posi-
tions in the Arab world have
children that have special needs,
”
Bernstein explained. “But in
that part of the world, you don’t
really talk about it, it’s not really
discussed. If your child has a
disability, ultimately it’s some-
thing that’s seen as taboo.
”
Bernstein said this outreach
allowed them to see new pos-
sibilities, and those possibilities
were brought to them through
the Accords.
NEW PERSPECTIVES
“When you would meet with
people in the royal family, they
would say it allowed them to see
their child in a totally different
light and see possibilities for
their child in a way they never
envisioned,
” Bernstein said.
“Then, they would ask how they
could make a difference because
they don’t have programs and
services like we do.
”
Bernstein stressed what was
so special about this endeavor
is that it was, “the first time a
Jewish person has ever been
featured in a favorable, positive
light by all Arab media.
”
“The narrative was changing,
and I was asked to be the per-
son to allow for folks to have
an opportunity to basically be
introduced to a Jewish person,
”
Bernstein said. “It was thought
that a person with a severe dis-
ability who’s faced struggles and
challenges would be a good con-
duit to have a new appreciation
of Jewish people.
”
Originally planned to be a
two-week trip, Bernstein says it
was then recognized the effort
was going very well.
“Things were going better
than what had been anticipated,
so I was asked whether I was
willing to stay on and continue
doing the work we were doing
from the UAE.
”
Bernstein noted a unique win-
dow had been opened, and if he
didn’t take advantage of it then,
it wouldn’t be known when that
window would open again.
“I was doing what I thought
was helpful for Israel, some-
thing that I thought was for a
higher purpose,
” Bernstein said.
“Certain people who have per-
sonal connections to disabilities
were very touched, and they
wanted this message out.
”
Bernstein says the closed
Israeli borders played a role in
terms of that situation, but the
reason he stayed in Dubai for
that long wasn’t only because
things were going well.
In regard to blowback
he’s received from some in
Michigan, Bernstein respects
that viewpoint, but says he
would be doing the same thing
in Michigan as he has been
overseas.
“The court buildings have
been closed for over a year.
You’re not allowed in the build-
OUR COMMUNITY
Justice Bernstein advances Abraham Accords
while advocating for the disabled.
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
“PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES CAN
BRING PEOPLE
TOGETHER.”
— JUSTICE RICHARD BERNSTEIN
A Great
Ability
Good
Ability
Good
Good
to Do
Justice Bernstein’s meet-
ing with the king of Dubai.
Justice Bernstein meeting with UAE Minister of State Reem Al Hashimy.