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Jun 15, 2026, 4:20 AM

Read the Room: A Letter to Israel’s Educational Leaders on Disability Inclusion

Courtesy of the Author

Recently, a dispute erupted in Israel between the Teachers’ Union, parents’ organizations, and the Education Ministry over the future of disability inclusion in schools. The Teachers’ Union has argued that severe staffing shortages and a lack of support personnel...

Jun 10, 2026, 4:09 AM

Inches to Metric: Creating Mercaz Lavi – PTSD Center

Our team. Photo Beth Kopin

Our buddy Elie Spivack (co- founder of Mercaz Lavi) came to us four years ago. He was a distinguished combat engineer suffering from PTSD, (post traumatic stress disorder). We did not know it at the time. All we knew...

Jun 9, 2026, 5:50 PM

I had to choose between my Zionism and my disability advocacy

Protest encampments may no longer block our path to class, but Jewish students like me who are attached to Israel are still barred from full participation in campus life

May 29, 2026, 6:35 PM

Disability Inclusion in the Jewish Community Saves Lives

Rafi (center) celebrates with his Grandfather (left) and Uncle (right) at Ramah Nyack's Zimriyah Song Festival, July 2015.

Thank you to the Klein family for allowing me to share Danny’s story. May his memory be for a blessing. I often get asked by my speaking audiences: why do you speak? As a future Rabbi and busy college student,...

May 5, 2026, 4:15 AM

Enamoured on the Spectrum for British Jews

On the 2nd April 2026, I did something remarkable for Autism Awareness Day outside the Israeli Embassy in London. I held a sign saying, "I am an autistic non-Jewish friend of Israel. Ask me why." I held it up...

Sahar R. Silverman

May 5, 2026, 12:40 AM

A Paradox in Israeli Society: Disabled and Independent

"Who left you here?" I didn't really have time to ponder it in the moment, as I was in the middle of navigating a narrow sidewalk with almost no kerb cut, driving my power wheelchair in Jerusalem. After I'd successfully...

Apr 30, 2026, 10:46 PM

When Sacred Texts Wound: The Troubling Legacy of Parshat Emor

Parshat Emor includes many disturbing passages—texts whose implications still reverberate today. When I used to teach English, I would explain to my students that the word “exclusive,” though often positive in Hebrew (suggesting something special), is built on a...

Apr 15, 2026, 8:01 AM

Microplastics and Israel

I’m watching C-SPAN, where a panel of so-called experts is discussing the dangers of microplastics. I say “so-called” because one of the panelists is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Yes, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—our Secretary of Health and Human Services. Yes, the...

Apr 6, 2026, 6:01 PM

Autism May Not Be What You Think It Is

Image generated with ChatGPT

Every April, as we mark Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, social media fills with puzzle pieces, and well-meaning people and organizations share related posts. The puzzle piece has itself become a contested symbol. Many feel it reflects an outdated...

Apr 1, 2026, 10:22 PM

Inclusion is not a subplot: The moral failure of ‘The Amazing Race’

When others say "I can't," it often sounds like a moment of surrender or giving in to difficulty. When Omri Rozenblitt said it facing an impossible challenge on "The Amazing Race," (MERUTZ L'MILLION) we knew he meant every syllable....

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