Rivlin pushes to improve how police deal with those with disabilities

The meeting comes in the backdrop of the tragic killing of Iyad al-Halak, an autisitc Palestinian man who was killed by Border Police when they mistook his cell phone for an explosive.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
President Reuven Rivlin attends the Knesset session in which the new government was presented (photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESWOMAN - ADINA WALLMAN)
President Reuven Rivlin attends the Knesset session in which the new government was presented
(photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESWOMAN - ADINA WALLMAN)
Against the backdrop of the tragic killing of Iyad al-Halak, an innocent young Palestinian man who was autistic and carrying a cell phone that Border Police mistook for an explosive, President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday hosted an inter-ministerial meeting to brainstorm ways in which law enforcement agencies should deal with people with mental and physical disabilities.
Most physical disabilities are obvious. Mental ones are not, which is why Halak became the unfortunate victim of Border Police, whose top priority was to prevent a terrorist attack by one of the gates to Jerusalem's Old City. Halak's caregiver called out in Hebrew to alert the Border Police that he was harmless. They may not have heard her in the heat of the moment, or they may have simply chosen to disbelieve and ignore her.
Acutely conscious not only of the tragedy of the Halak family, but also of the acceleration of tensions between Israel's minority communities and law enforcement and security personnel, Rivlin initiated an inter-ministerial session to try to find a solution to the problem.
The meeting was attended by Labor and Social Services Minister Itzik Shmuli; Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn; the Justice and Health ministries directors-general; Avremi Torem, commissioner for equal rights for persons with disabilities; and other relevant individuals who shared personal stories regarding law enforcement and disabilities.
Ordinarily, a meeting with so relatively few participants would take place in the small reception room in the President's Residence, but due to the emphasis placed on social distancing, the event was held in the large main reception hall, with a lot of empty space separating each participant from his or her neighbors.
Rivlin stressed the importance of eliminating fear and suspicion of law enforcement and security forces by creating an environment in which they could meet with all sectors of the civilian population, so that the two sides could get to know each other.
Relating to the Jewish and democratic values that serve as guidelines for Israeli society, the president said that human life is the greatest value of all and that everything must be done to safeguard it.
He underscored that the obligation to safeguard human life applies not only in relation to the citizens of Israel, but also of others  "within our midst." The onus rests not only with the civilian population, but also with police and soldiers.
Rivlin added that the government must allocate a budget for the purpose of giving people with disabilities a sense of safety and trust in law enforcement authorities.
Shmuli said that the tragic death of Halak must alert all Israelis to the importance of all aspects of accepting others, and of assuring such people of their rights.

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Nissenkorn said that a strong society is one that knows how to absorb people who are different and enables them to be an integral part of that society.
One of the personal stories shared at the meeting was by Oren Helman, whose 11-and-a half-year-old daughter attends a special needs school. Helman's daughter dressed up in a police uniform for Purim, and wants to be a policewoman when she grows up.  Perhaps if there were more disabled people in the police force, attitudes would change, he suggested.
But the biggest problem is to get people to rid themselves of illogical biases.
An example of how imperative this is was given to the meeting by David Harris, who suffers from mental problems and carries a card explaining his condition.
Harris works at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, and was crossing the road to get there, oblivious of the fact that there was a police road block. The card, which attested to his condition and to that fact that he was employed at the hospital, was suspended from a ribbon around his neck.
Harris tried to explain where he was going, but the police were disinclined to listen. They roughed him up and treated him as if he was a criminal. Harris broke out into a sweat; his heart began pounding; the tension in his body mounted; and he could barely breathe. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere for him to turn.
Harris was then confronted by another policeman, who asked him where he was going. Harris saw the gun in the policeman's holster and was sure he was going to be shot, but he nervously explained again that he was going to work. This policeman took a much more humane attitude, waved him on and said "Go."


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