NEW YORK – On Thursday, the United Nations will commemorate UN World Autism
Awareness Day, and for the third year in a row, the Israeli delegation to the UN
will head up the day’s activities as well as active advocacy on behalf of autism
treatment.
The day will culminate in the screening of two episodes of the
Israeli series Yellow Peppers, a show that raised autism awareness in Israel for
its treatment of a child with autism in the Arava. One hundred-twenty diplomats,
as well as members of nongovernmental organizations, are expected to attend the
event, according to Amir Weissbrod, a senior political adviser to the Israeli
mission.
After the screening, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Meron Reuben
will hold a conversation with the series’s director and a representative of the
UN secretary-general. An Israeli-style dinner with Israeli wines will also be
served.
Reuben said, “I am proud to be Israel’s representative leading
the UN International Autism Awareness Day events, as the Israeli delegation to
the United Nations takes an active role on the global agenda at the
UN.”
The event, Weissbrod said, allows Israel to step out of its normal
role at the UN, mired in Security Council and Middle East arguments, and to turn
its attention to other issues.
“This shows that Israel is in the
forefront and contributes something significant to special education,” Weissbrod
said. “It illustrates that we’re part of something larger, and that we are
trying to contribute to other issues in the world community.”