In the latest diplomatic kerfuffle between Israeli and American officials, it has been reported by Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic that: “Over the years, Obama administration officials have described (Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin) Netanyahu to me as recalcitrant, myopic, reactionary, obtuse, blustering, pompous, and ‘Aspergery.’ (These are verbatim descriptions; I keep a running list.)”
In response to that article, The Ruderman Family Foundation, advocates of creating inclusive communities for people with disabilities in the United States, Israel and around the world, issued a press release today critical of the Obama administration officials for using the name of a disability in a derogatory manner.
“Aspergery” refers to Asperger’s syndrome, which is defined by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as “an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of a distinct group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restrictive, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. “
But from my perspective, “Aspergery” also has many positive connotations, such as the ability to have a laser-like focus on one issue, painstaking attention to detail and most interesting of all, a desire to tell the truth all the time. As one young adult with Aspergers wrote on a an online message board, “I have Aspergers and people tell me that I tend to blurt things out without thinking of how others would take it. I don't quite understand this. If someone asks me a question I tell them the honest answer – I don't dress it up or dance around the subject. “
Now, I am not a fan of Netanyahu, but I am a strong supporter of Israel’s right to exist and defend itself from the multiple terrorist and military threats it faces now and in the immediate future. And if the Prime Minister of Israel came across to Obama officials as a little obsessed about security issues and didn't observe all the social nuances of diplomatic dialogue, well that’s ok by me.
