4 | DECEMBER 30 • 2021

PURELY COMMENTARY

column

When Will We Become an
Exemplary Society?
E

very year at the
beginning of December
comes “International
Day of Persons with
Disabilities” (Dec. 3), an
awareness day
created by the
United Nations
to promote
the rights and
enhance the
well-being of
people with
disabilities.
While I applaud this
important initiative, I am
troubled by the implication
that just one day a year
suffices to effectively raise
awareness and promote real
change for the disability
community.
So, why do we settle for just
one awareness day? Don’t we
all experience the impact of
disabilities on our lives each
and every day? Whether due
to injury, illness, accident
or aging, disability touches
us and the ones we love; it
engulfs us from all sides. In
truth, life is a nonstop battle
with disability and human
frailty.
While these are the facts
on the ground, most of us are
not at all comfortable with
this image of our reality. We
would much prefer to focus
on human successes and
heroics, and on how much we
have achieved as a society.
During my service in the
Israel Defense Forces, my unit
inundated us with slogans
like “Nothing is impossible”
and “We can accomplish
anything.” Many of those

who died or were wounded
in battle immediately became
heroes and legends. Similarly,
my parents — both of whom
were born in Israel during
the British Mandate period
— were part of a generation
that never wept. They
suppressed and hid any signs
of weakness. I never saw
them cry, not even when my
brother, Eran, was killed in
1973 during the Yom Kippur
War. They always bit their lips
and stood straight, no matter
how hard it got.
I grew up and was schooled
in a society that lauded and
valued healthy, strong and
heroic people. Dealing with
loss at home was heroic. “Of
course, Doron has to continue
his combat service,” my
parents would say, “There is
no other option.”
The first person to truly
teach me about the world of
disability was my son, Eran.
Though he passed away
nearly 15 years ago, Eran
still remains the greatest
teacher of my life. Born with
high-level autism and severe
developmental disabilities,
he never spoke or made eye
contact. He never even called
me “Abba.” But Eran opened
our eyes to the true nature
of humanity by taking the
veil that hid society’s shame
of the weak, the helpless and
those struck by fate — the
same veil that often hides
abuse, discrimination, racism,
cruelty, neglect and hypocrisy
— and tearing it to pieces.
When we echo the mantra
“Never leave a man behind,”

are we only referring to those
wounded on the battlefield,
or do we also understand our
obligation to provide ongoing
love and support to those
who require assistance every
day of their lives? Do we
understand the importance
of helping them bathe, eat,
get dressed and deal with
bureaucracy?
When we encourage each
other to “Show deference
to the elderly,” do we mean
that their care should be
handed over to foreign aides
while the healthiest and most
creative among us continue
to fuel the engine of this
Startup Nation? How long
will we chase excellence
while running away from our
societal responsibilities? How
long will we let our arrogance
and pride shelter us from the
realities of disability?
While it’s important to
build, create and strive for
excellence, we must also place
the appropriate emphasis on
mutual responsibility and
highlight its centrality in
our growth as a society. The
way in which we relate to
the most vulnerable among
us — those with disabilities
and multiple challenges
— constitutes our greatest
test. It is our communal
responsibility to provide
them with appropriate
care, representation
and opportunities for
advancement every day of the
year.
Our societal transformation
will begin when we
launch mass volunteering

initiatives in every school;
bringing students into
senior residences, hospitals
and centers for individuals
with disabilities to spread
joy; lending a hand and
learning about the realities of
disability; fostering empathy
and promoting true inclusion.
At the same time, we must
open our schools, community
centers, houses of prayer and
businesses to people with
disabilities, reassessing our
facilities and retooling our
programming and offerings to
be more inclusive and ensure
that everyone has access to
education, enrichment and
gainful employment.
When we set these critical
changes into motion, we will
be on our way to becoming
an exemplary society, though
it will require constant work
to maintain it.
In this new world, there
will be no need to set aside
a single day for people with
disabilities because their care,
development and inclusion
will be part and parcel of our
daily lives. When we reach
that point, we will value our
healthy morals and strong
convictions for good above all
else, and our heroism will be
found in our humanity. Only
then can we call ourselves an
exemplary society.

Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog is a

decorated IDF soldier, Israel Prize

Laureate, and the founder and

chairman of ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran

(www.adi-israel.org), an expansive

residential and rehabilitation village in

Israel’s south that is world-renowned

as a symbol of true inclusion.

Doron Almog