From The Jerusalem Post’s June 16, 2021 Grapevine column:
■ AMONG THE new legislators who are due to take their places in the Knesset this week is Shirley Pinto, a deaf political activist, whose parents are also deaf, in addition to which her mother is blind.
Because she spent much of her childhood with her mother’s parents, Pinto is fluent in both sign language and spoken Hebrew. Her mother is an actress in Na Laga’at, the blind-deaf theater restaurant where guests are served their meals in the dark so that they can temporarily experience the world of the blind.
Pinto, who excelled in her school and university studies, also did her military service in the Israel Air Force, after which she earned a law degree, and specializes in labor laws, especially those pertaining to people with disabilities. She is one of the founders of the Israeli Center for Deaf Studies, and lectures at Bar-Ilan University on sign language interpreting for the police and the courts. Pinto is married to telecommunications engineer Michael Kadosh, who is also deaf. He migrated to Israel from the United States. They have a three-year-old son.
Particularly pleased to see Pinto in the Knesset are the heads of the Ruderman Family Foundation, of which Pinto is a former staff member. The foundation is dedicated to the integration of people with disabilities in all walks of life, both in Israel and the US, and is particularly active in urging Hollywood filmmakers to utilize actors with disabilities, especially if the actor has the particular disability that is called for in the script.
“As a former staff member of the Ruderman Family Foundation, we’re delighted to see Shirley Pinto enter the halls of power and be a force of positive change,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the foundation. “I’m confident she will be a strong voice for inclusion and accessibility for those with disabilities. I applaud Yamina and the new government for warmly welcoming her.”
Pinto is entering the Knesset as a replacement for Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana, who, in accordance with the Norwegian Law, has resigned from the Knesset in order to allow another of his party to obtain a Knesset seat.
Source: www.jpost.com/opinion/grapevine-june-16-2021-where-english-rules-the-roost-671117
