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.

