Version for
Soroptimist Web site
STUDY
DAY on
"COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT AND THE THIRD AGE"
In
memory of Mina Ben-Zvi, founder and first director of the
22
February 2009
The Study Day, held every
year by MCTC since Mina Ben-Zvi's passing, throws light on a subject chosen for
its focus on maintenance and development of a vital and healthy community
life.
The Soroptimist Clubs
of
This year’s subject
was proposed by Arlette Adler, founder of the Seniors-Lobby of
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Mazal Renford opened
the program recalling the active public life and outstanding achievements of
Mina Ben Zvi, mentioning, however, that," Were Mina to be here, she would
prefer hearing about advances in developing countries" to which she devoted
her latter professional life and diplomatic skills as director of MCTC.
The Assistant Secretary -General of the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Haim Divon, responsible for MASHAV- the
Center for International Cooperation under which MCTC functions, reminded us of
the moral position taken by Golda Meir as Foreign Minister when she created
MASHAV. "As we were aided when
Mr. Haim Divon added
that here at MCTC, Golda Meir and Mina Ben-Zvi forged the path that would
empower women to take leadership roles for development, by offering practical
training that could be transferred directly to their communities.
Ms. Arlette Adler –
Soroptimist and founder of the Seniors-Lobby of
Ms. Hava
Shurani-Feldman – President of the
Mr. Yehoshua Erlich –
Director of MCTC courses in Community Development for
The Guest Lecturer of
the Study Day was Att. Carmit Shay of the Association "The Law in the
Service of the Elderly". This
relatively new association is dedicated to the promotion and defense of the rights
of the elderly in
Att. Shay called our
attention to the degradation of the situation of the elderly, to the lack of
attention by the authorities or other influential leaders to infringements of
the rights of the elderly. She called
this attitude Ageism (which rhymes with Chauvinism). "Attention has to be drawn to this in
order to overcome it." One way is
to bring cases to the attention of the courts, including the Supreme Court,
with the hope that their verdict will change existing stereotypes of the
elderly. One example, she gave, referred
to a doctor after retirement age that asked to continue to work and was refused
because of his age. The Association took
the case to court and cited three Israeli laws in his defense: The Labor Law
that includes a section against discrimination on the base of race, sex and
age. The Law for Freedom of
Occupation/work and the Law on the Dignity of the Individual. Unfortunately, the court decided in favor of
the employer who had refused to hire the doctor. But, says Att. Carmit, “The
issue had been raised in the halls of Judgement!”
Att. Carmit Shay gave
other examples of discriminatory behavior against the elderly based solely on
their age; and of the short-sighted decisions taken by employers or voluntary
associations, disregarding the potential of the elder's contribution to society
or the mental and emotional well-being of the individual elderly living in our
midst. Another aspect of the elders'
rights that is often disregarded concerns his protection from abuse and
violence, at times from his own family, neighbors or larger society.
The experience of the
Association has led it to conclude that there is also a need for action at the
legislative level – amending and/or proposing new laws in the Knesset. Att. Carmit Shay invited the audience to make
use of the services of the Association. Among other activities of the Association,
is participation in academic Fora and Congresses and publication of articles on
different issues.
The Study Day ended
with a tasty buffet lunch and many hearty expressions of appreciation for the
rich and varied program of the Study Day.
Written by Tsipora
Rom and Fannette Modek