“On Integration, Adaptation, Comfort Zones, and what is just beyond them”
by Avi Ganz 09/3/2015
Years ago, it was widely accepted that any person who was noticeably different (religious belief, skin color, intelligence, mannerisms, etc.) was incapable of integrating into the mainstream. What was done with these minorities depended on geography, socio-political norms and more, but the common denominator was that the uncommon denominator (sorry – couldn’t help myself) was segregated. Without turning this into a history lesson, hundreds of years, thousands of lives, lots of blood, sweat, tears, and constant change, and we now live in a world that thrives on all sorts of affirmative action: quotas for hiring people of different race, or people with various disabilities, wheelchair accessible building code and funding for research on how to include individuals with developmental disabilities in the workforce, the education system, and the community … Click to read more
Avi Ganz is the director of Ohr Torah Stone’s Darkaynu Program for Men, the only year-in-Israel experience for young adults with special needs.
