As the Academy Awards declare their winners this weekend, I start my annual plea for inclusion of people with Disabilities in Hollywood. It has been over 30 years since Marlee Matlin won her Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Children of a Lesser God. She is the last actress with a recognizable physical…
A version of this article originally appeared in New Voices. I’ve met member of the House Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus Rep. James Langevin (D-RI), networked with RespectAbilityUSA president Jennifer Laszlo-Mizrahi, and practiced my ASL with program director of Gallaudet University Hillel Jacob Salem, the first-ever Hillel director who is Deaf. One year ago, as a freshman…
Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of a wheelchair-bound Palestinian man shot during clashes with Israeli troops. Ibrahim Abu Thurayya, 29, was one of four Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli troops on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Two of the Palestinians were killed on the border with the Gaza, and two were killed in…
A double-amputee from Brooklyn has sued nearly 200 businesses in the last seven years for failing to accommodate customers in wheelchairs—which some see as abusing the legal system while others classify as fighting for fellow citizens with disabilities. Zoltan Hirsch, age 37, has filed 195 claims since 2010, the New York Post reported Saturday. The…
It would not be hard to imagine one’s mother exclaiming “Mother’s Day? You should be aware of your mother’s blessings every day of the year!” With Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion month (JDAIM) behind us, it is important not to lose momentum. The journey to advance inclusion is an ongoing process. While this quest is…
In his Bar Mitzvah video, Adam Wolfond, a non-speaking autistic person who types to communicate, explores the story of Moses and the Golden Calf to ask: “Does the Torah book answer the reasons why I don’t talk?” Viewed as non-relational and unaware because of his autism label, Adam expresses his relationship to others, his environment…
When you see a parent with a child who has a cognitive and/or physical disability at your supermarket, playground or synagogue, how do you react? Do you look away or make eye contact? Do you smile and say hello—or move away from them quickly? In the last decade, our synagogues, JCCs, camps and schools have…
(JTA) — Oscar-winning Jewish actress Marlee Matlin is being honored by the Ruderman Family Foundation for her activism on behalf of people with disabilities. Matlin, who is deaf, will be recognized with the annual Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion, the foundation announced Wednesday in a statement. The actress, who serves as a spokeswoman for…
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