After months of preparation for their Bar Mitzvahs, a group of Israeli boys with severe, non-verbal autism were not permitted to hold their milestone ceremony on April 30 at a Conserative/ Israeli Masorti synagogue when Mayor Rahamim Malul of Rehovot abruptly canceled the program, 48 hours before it was scheduled to be held.
Malul, a former lawmaker for the Orthodox Shas party in the Israeli parliament, forbid the public school special education students, which included some Orthodox students, from coming to non-Orthodox Congregation Adat Shalom during school time, essentially nixing the ceremony.
Rabbi Mikie Goldstein of Congregation Adat Shalom blogged about this shameful event in the Times of Israel, saying that traditionally, boys with severe disabilities have not even been able to have a Bar Mitzvah in an Orthodox synagogue since they were viewed as not being sound of mind.
“Twenty years ago, based on a contemporary understanding of autism and ground-breaking religious responsa, the Masorti movement in Israel initiated a project for children with varying disabilities, preparing them for their bar/bat mitzvah. Within a few years, this pioneering program was being rolled out in tens of special education schools around the country, bringing new hope to children with disabilities and their families.”
The last minute cancellation was protested by many. The Israeli Masorti movement statement said, “To slam a door on a Jewish teen at the moment they are about to enter the fellowship of the Jewish people is terrible; to do so to a young person with disabilities is unforgivable,” wrote Yizhar Hess, executive director of the Masorti Movement in Israel. Hess was also quoted as saying that Mayor Malul was using these children as pawns in a political game directed against the Masorti movement.
Turning to social media, a new Facebook page called, “Kol HaNea’arim: The Global B’nai Mitzvah Flash Mob” has been organized by the Masorti Foundation in support of religious freedom in Israel. The organizers are asking people around the world to write in a response in the comments section of the page, or to make and post a video statement — by yourself or in a group — making sure to identify yourself, your group and your location.
Yesterday, Jewish groups around the world gathered together beneath a tallit (prayer shawl) as is often done on the holiday of Simchat Torah when the children of the congregation are called up for a collective aliyah, or blessing for the Torah. In Los Angeles, the Our Space program at Temple Aliyah gathered together under a tallit for a photo and video, adding their voices of protest to this injustice. As a Jewish people who value all humans as having divine sparks, we should be focused on opening more doors for those who have special needs, not slamming them shut.
