High Court: Give blind people the travel benefits of wheelchair confined

The court explained that the petitioners had been in negotiations with the state since 2011.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
The High Court of Justice during a hearing (photo credit: ALEX KOLOMOISKY / POOL)
The High Court of Justice during a hearing
(photo credit: ALEX KOLOMOISKY / POOL)
The High Court of Justice on Sunday ruled that blind persons must receive the same state benefits and support relating to being mobile which wheelchair confined persons already receive.
A petition by the Center for the Blind in Israel against the state and the National Insurance Institute was approved by a unanimous decision of justices Hanan Melcer, George Kara and Alex Stein.
Justice Stein, one of the newest and usually more conservative and formalistic justices, wrote one of his more uplifting and emotional opinions defending blind persons’ right to equal state support.
“Many of the petitioners cannot see us [due to their blindness, but we see you” and your right to equality, wrote Stein.
“I arrived at the unambiguous conclusion that what appeared to be discrimination was in fact discrimination,” he added. “Also, that there was no justification or explanation which could lead to coming to peace with this discrimination, making it improper and illegal.”
At the time the petition was filed, blind persons received NIS 988 per month from the state to pay for someone to accompany them while traveling out of their residence.
In contrast, wheelchair confined persons and others persons who are unable to move their legs to travel from their residence received NIS 2,364 per month, presumably to pay for services which would transport them in a vehicle.
The court explained that the petitioners had been in negotiations with the state since 2011.
Further, the court said that despite various ministers and Knesset committee members voicing their support for equal support toward blind persons, some combination of the Finance Ministry and the NII appeared to thwart any radical changes.
By March 2018, with the issue already before the court, the state finally agreed to an interim revision in which blind persons’ support was elevated to NIS 1,337 per month.
However, the petitioners said that it still made no sense for them to receive less state support than wheelchair confined persons merely because their legs allow them to move around, since their blindness makes it difficult or impossible to do so safely.
The state used the three rounds of elections as an excuse to delay the issue further, but even after the last election, the state tried to argue that it did not have the economic means for a radical change and that the support levels for blind persons were reasonable under the circumstances.
In contrast, the petitioners argued that blind persons should also have the option of being transported by vehicle and not merely to walk around accompanied, which limits their travel options and could be an undue hardship.
Stein noted in his decision that most blind persons must travel extensively to specific education centers which teach them how to live with their blindness, without which they find it much harder to travel or function.


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