Chaim Perkal

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Dec 21, 2020, 2:56 PM

Why changing public opinion on disability matters

Rising coronavirus case numbers and rumors of a third lockdown. Mandatory state-run hotel quarantine for travelers returning to Israel from the UK. The looming deadline for a national budget, which may send the Jewish state to a fourth round...

Jul 9, 2020, 5:57 PM

Reforms in early intervention for kids with special needs may mean disaster

Plans to shift services from private and municipal options to Israeli HMOs will likely cause critical delays in providing crucial support

Jun 1, 2020, 6:48 PM

People with special needs and police: bridging the gap

When I learned of Saturday’s incident in which Iyad Al-Halak, a young man with special needs was shot in Jerusalem by police, I felt as though I had lost someone in my family. Al-Halak, who was autistic, did not...

May 21, 2020, 8:48 PM

When movement is critical for health

As a nation, we’re still processing the long-term effects of the coronavirus crisis and figuring out how we’ll manage the damage to the economy. But on an individual level, the lockdowns have also created serious damage, especially for people...

May 11, 2020, 8:45 PM

How the economic crisis affects the special needs community

On Saturday night, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met with a panel of medical and economic experts to discuss next steps in managing the coronavirus pandemic and its financial fallout. When asked how the government would handle a second wave of...

May 4, 2020, 2:30 PM

Why Rivlin’s statement about people with special needs matters

On Sunday morning, President Reuven Rivlin asked Health Minister Yaakov Litzman to reinstate family visits for Israelis living in state-run residential care facilities. “I ask you to take into account the genuine crisis that may be created among those...

Apr 26, 2020, 8:58 PM

Judaism’s Attitude Towards People With Disabilities May Surprise You

Rabbinical rulings say that people living with special needs must be included in communal Jewish life, albeit with slight modifications. What can this teach the rest of society? Working in the disability justice sphere for over 30 years, “inclusion” is...

Apr 19, 2020, 12:43 PM

What Easing Restrictions Means for the Special Needs Community

Many of the public discussions about managing the coronavirus pandemic center around trade-offs. How many people’s livelihoods should be destroyed, in order to save how many lives? Can we let parents return to work, while their children don’t return...

Apr 5, 2020, 3:52 PM

Lessons from the special needs community on responding to coronavirus

The general public is now dealing with many of the questions and worries we face every day. Here is what we have learned

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About Me

Rabbi Chaim Perkal is the Director and Founder of Alei Siach, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit organization providing all-inclusive solutions for people living with special needs and their families.