The Ministerial Committee for Legislation has approved the Welfare Bill for People with Disabilities. The bill was led by Welfare and Social Security Minister Meir Cohen and Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid.
The core of the reform is the provision of services to people with developmental intellectual disabilities, people on the autism spectrum and people with hearing and vision disabilities - in accordance with the UN Convention on Human Rights With Disabilities (CRPD) signed by the State of Israel.
As part of the reform, relevant services will be expanded for the population, the range of services will be flexible and better access for the use of those entitled to the service will be provided.
"The Ministerial Committee on Legislation today passed a life-changing law. The Welfare Law for People with Disabilities is not an ordinary law for me. I'm Yaeli's father," said Lapid.
"The law will provide opportunities and rights for people with disabilities and will change their lives and the lives of their families. Today's approval is another step on the way to passing the law in the next Knesset session" he said.
Once passed, people eligible for the service will be able to personally draft exactly what kind of help and benefits they need, tailoring the assistance given to their particular situation.
"This is another significant step towards our great goal, this law is a real revolution in line with a trend that is gaining momentum in the most advanced countries in the world," Cohen said.
"The meaning of the law is that the State of Israel sees the person, not through his disabilities but his desires, abilities and dreams," he said. "When we say 'equal rights' for people with disabilities, this is exactly what we mean."
Apart from presenting assistance with benefits, the new law will also provide a wide range of services to better help people with disabilities live independent lives from counseling, special classes on everyday tasks, and translation services to access new technologies.