18.6 percent of Americans (according to the US census) have a disability. Because Jews marry later in life, and therefore have more children when we are over age 40, we have significantly more issues with Autism and mental health (which are linked to having kids over age 40, or even if your GRANDPARENT had their kids over age 40) than other American groups. So do the math. It means there are more Jews with disabilities today than there were Jews in the FSU when we got them all out as a community. Yet, our community was able to do the impossible -- we got more than 1 MILLION Jews out of the FSU. So why cant we simply include Jews with disabilities in fully in Jewish life today? No one needs to be moved. No one needs to learn a new language. No government needs to grant a Visa. Its like the NIKE slogan -- JUST DO IT. But we dont. Why do we accept the unacceptable as a community? Is it like the Jews from Ethiopia who stayed in refugee camps for year after year because (I hate to say it, but I believe it is true) they are black and there was some discrimination? Well we ultimately did the right thing for Ethiopian Jews as a community. And arent we proud that we did? So what will it take for us to have the courage, vision and strength to do the right thing now on including people with disabilities? How long do we have to wait?
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 21:41:49 +0000
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