Monday, January 15, 2018

Is this why our government loves Aleh?

State Attorney Shai Nitzan visiting Aleh Negev [Image Source]
This blog has often bemoaned the incessant procession of dignitaries to Aleh's institutions. The latest to join is State Attorney, Shai Nitzan, who was given "a tour of the village", referring to Aleh Negev, on January 9, 2018.

The kudos that Israel's officials accord Aleh's large, closed  institutions is unforgivable. It intensifies the uphill battle facing  people with disabilities and their families who crave true equality and true inclusion as opposed to the ersatz equality and inclusion that Aleh's PR peddles.

But Mr. Nitzan must be commended for his honesty, inadvertent though it probably was. In his praise for Aleh's enterprise, he let the cat out of the bag, saying
"...Our place, that of the State Attorney, is to work to lessen discrimination, to take care of and assist the periphery in its lack of equality vis-à-vis the center of the country.”
There it is, for all to read and hear.

One crucial motive behind this government's promotion and funding of Aleh is the jobs it generates. Simply put, the warehousing of our most vulnerable children and adults, their isolation from families and communities, is a boon to the  economically-deprived south of Israel - the Negev.

Which means the welfare of the residents with disabilities themselves isn't a priority. And how could it be? If it were, our government would be supporting and funding their care with their families and in the community with the generosity it now unjustifiably bestows on Aleh.

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