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

