State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman hosted at the Office of the State Comptroller the "BeMa'agalei HaBeyahad" ("Community Circles") exhibition by the residents of the Lev Gilo home in Jerusalem. All the exhibiting artists are persons with disabilities who live at the home, and the exhibition will be displayed in the lobby of the Office of the State Comptroller during the next few weeks. The exhibition's curator, who also presented the exhibits to the Office of the State Comptroller employees and to all the guests, is Dr. Nurit Sirkis Bank. The exhibition is the product of a leadership and entrepreneurship development process among persons with disabilities, conducted by Nechama Yacobi from the Gilo Community Administration and the Association of Community Centers. Meital Matok, a process developer and facilitator, led the process.
The exhibition's curator said that: "We believe that persons with disabilities can and should lead in the community just like persons without disabilities". For this reason, they wished to create a connection between persons with and without disabilities, to turn them into leaders and influencers, and to help the community get to know the persons with disabilities.
During the event, two of the artists performed a special wheelchairs dance to the sounds of the Alain Barrière song, "Elle était si Jolie".
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman talked with the artists - the men and women with disabilities, and with the staff of the home and the community center, and told them:
"At the Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman we attach great importance to taking care of persons with disabilities, in both my roles as the Ombudsman and the State Comptroller.
As I see it, the main role of the State Audit is to be the mouth and ears for populations whose voice is not always heard in Israeli society. Many strong populations in the State of Israel know how to stand up for themselves. It is important for us at the Office of the State Comptroller to also address those populations whose voice is not necessarily heard and to place emphasis on how the public authorities deal with these populations.
The test of a society is its ability to care for all those belonging to it, including its commitment to care for the weaker links in it and to strive to exercise the right to equality for all its elements. Caring for persons with disabilities is important not only on account of its contribution to the individual, but also on account of its contribution to society as a whole, both from the ethical-moral aspect and from the economic aspect. This is a test of the society's moral strength, on which its existence is founded.
During recent years several reports have been published on topics concerning persons with disabilities, some examples are:
- Ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities in legal proceedings
- Service to the citizen in the National Insurance Institute's medical committees
- Making public transport accessible for persons with disabilities
- Inclusion of a variety of populations in the civil service
The Office of the Ombudsman has made it its mission to promote activities which will influence proper governmental and public administration activity. The Office of the Ombudsman was established to provide a solution for citizens against possible harm by governmental bodies. In our country, which is characterized by expansion of the public mechanism and a wide variety of life spheres in which he is involved, the citizen, whether he likes it or not, is closely connected to the governmental authorities and the various administrative bodies. The extensive contact between the individual and the governmental authorities and the large number of governmental bodies which the citizen needs create a broad area of friction and the individual's great dependency on the bureaucratic mechanism. The Ombudsman has an advantage as possesses the authority to intervene not only in acts which deviate from legal rules and norms, but also in acts by authorities which are overly strict or outstandingly unjust. All this by means of convenient, uncomplicated treatment and free of charge. The Office of the Ombudsman's main goal is dealing with the complaining citizen and rectifying the damage he has incurred.
The Office of the State Comptroller and Ombudsman shall continue to deal with topics concerning persons with disabilities and place them on the public agenda.
We are at your service to handle any complaint.
I wish all the artists continued success and Happy Hanukkah!"