The experiences of Palestinian Arabs with disabilities in Israel

Bibliographic Data

ID6058723
AuthorsHusnul Amin (0000-0003-0751-156X, Hamad bin Khalifa University), Leena Badran (0000-0002-6585-6008, University of California, Berkeley), Ayelet Gur (0000-0002-5764-0653, Tel Hai Academic College), Michael Ashley Stein (0000-0001-9564-7461, Harvard University Press)
Year2024
Volume43
Issue1
Pages41-54
Publication date2024-01-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEqual Opportunities International (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1758-7093 • E-ISSN: 2040-7149
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/edi-01-2023-0032
OpenAlexW4381235704
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited31

Purpose Israel ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has subsequently worked towards putting disability-empowering policies and facilities in place. This study explores the experiences of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel with disabilities in everyday life including education, employment and accessing disability facilities and services. Design/methodology/approach This study explores the challenges and experiences of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a disparate group of Arab men and women with various forms of disabilities. Findings This research indicates that Arabs with disabilities are either unable to access them or do so with great difficulty relative to their Jewish counterparts. The findings suggest that this is due to one of two reasons: first is institutional discrimination by Jewish and Arab staff, and second is structural discrimination as facilities and services are specifically designed for the Jewish majority and their areas of residence as opposed to Arab residential areas. Originality/value Guided by intersectional theory, this article explores how the multiple identities of Arabs with disabilities living in Israel are co-constituted and ordered by different social and political structures which inform their daily lived experiences. This research illustrates that in Jewish politics and institutions, Arabs with disabilities in Israel are “otherised” by being flatly identified as Palestinians; yet, within their Arab communities, they are “otherised” by being reduced solely to their disability. This article examines how this variation in ordering and reduction can lead to specific experiences and forms of discrimination that requires multi-dimensional approaches and ways forward

Convention · Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities · Economic growth · Geography · Judaism · Middle East · Originality · Political science · Politics · Qualitative research · Residence · Social science · Sociology · Disability Rights and Representation · Gender Studies · Law

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