The Mission and Development Processes of the Disability Movement in Israel and the United States: A Comparison

This article provides a comparison between the mission and development processes of the disability movement in Israel and the United States. It examines whether the organizations that were supposed to construct the movement have succeeded in their mission through the adoption of the disability rights legislations or have been able to introduce a new agenda. The review and analysis are based on Israeli and foreign sources, in-depth interviews with prominent Israeli activists, and observations of protests and conferences held in Israel in recent years. Findings indicate that in comparison with the United States, the Israeli organizations' activities are defensive in nature, operating in a fairly young civic society, and have, therefore, failed to create an overall disability movement. The enactment of disability rights legislation left disability activists, in both countries, at a crossroads regarding their future mission. The conclusion reached is that if they wish to survive, they will need to cooperate with other civic organizations and probably renew their social contracts with their constituencies.