Palestinian Israelis with Disabilities Face Double Exclusion
Palestinian citizens of Israel with disabilities are navigating complex social and political challenges, facing exclusion both within their own community and from the broader Israeli society. These struggles extend beyond basic accessibility needs, encompassing issues of identity and forced integration. Disabilities are categorized into visible ones, such as mobility impairments, and invisible ones, including psychological, cognitive, and chronic health conditions, with the latter often being overlooked.
Due to systemic disadvantages and stigma, many Palestinian Israelis with disabilities turn to Israeli institutions for support, seeking opportunities that are often more limited than those available to their Jewish counterparts. This reliance raises questions about identity and the relationship with the Israeli system, highlighting the need to combat societal stigma and raise awareness against forced integration. True empowerment, the article argues, stems from internal community development rather than external dependency.
A 2024 report by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute indicates that the Arab community in Israel has a higher self-reported rate of disability compared to the Jewish community, with a greater prevalence of visible disabilities. Data also shows lower rates of higher education and employment among Arab Israelis with disabilities. Furthermore, gender discrimination creates a triple layer of exclusion for Palestinian women with disabilities, and Bedouin individuals with disabilities are identified as the most marginalized within this group.
The article points to institutional discrimination, unequal citizenship, and structural violence as contributing factors to the poor quality or complete absence of services for Palestinian Israelis with disabilities. This leads to reluctance in seeking necessary support and demanding rights. Within the Arab community itself, there is a significant lack of awareness and support for disability issues, often reduced to pity rather than proactive engagement. Civil society agendas also largely neglect these concerns, with initiatives remaining isolated from the wider community.
The concept of "disability washing" is introduced to describe the discrepancy between Israel's discourse on disability rights and its actual political practices. This suggests that efforts to integrate individuals with disabilities may serve as a broader strategy to detach Palestinian citizens of Israel from their national community by exploiting their need for inclusion and opportunity without granting equal rights or recognizing their cultural and national identity. Genuine empowerment, the piece concludes, requires integrating disability issues into the broader civil society agenda, moving beyond specialized frameworks and addressing the intersection of identity and dual or triple exclusion.
