[nagdu] No Jews Allowed

Sherri flmom2006 at gmail.com
Mon Jan 18 21:21:51 UTC 2010


That is a wonderful article and really puts things into perspective. Thanks 
for passing it on.
Sherri
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>; 
"NYAGDU List" <nyagdu at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 12:09 PM
Subject: [nagdu] No Jews Allowed


> Dear All,
>    I was asked to circulate this message by Marc Dubin, Mr. Dubin is a 
> subscriber to the email list of the National Association of Guide Dog 
> Users. Marc is a former Senior Trial Attorney with the United States 
> department of Justice and currently serves as the Director of Advocacy for 
> the Center for Independent Living of South Florida, located in Miami, and
> Chairs the Florida Bar's Disability Law Committee
>
> . I hope everyone will take the time to read his comments, as I believe 
> they will help put our work as advoacates into perspective!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> National Association of Guide Dog Users
> National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
>  No Jews Allowed
>
>  By Marc Dubin, Esq.
>
>  mdubin at pobox.com
>
>  Imagine that you sought help from the police after being beaten by your 
> husband, only to find that you were told that you could not receive their 
> services because you are Jewish.
>
>  Imagine that you sought the services of the domestic violence program but 
> are told that you could not receive their services because you are Jewish.
>
>  Imagine that you sought the services of the Red Cross during a Hurricane 
> but are told that you could not receive their services because you are 
> Jewish.
>
>  Imagine that you are the victim of rape, and sought the services of the 
> rape treatment service but are told that you could not receive their 
> services because you are Jewish.
>
>  Imagine that you desperately need medical care but are told that you 
> could not see the doctor because you are Jewish.
>
>  Imagine that you went shopping, and are unable to go into a grocery store 
> because you are Jewish.
>
>  And imagine that you seek out the services of an attorney, and are denied 
> services because you are Jewish.
>
>  You would be outraged, and hurt. You would find allies to join you in 
> protest. You would seek to have anti-discrimination laws enforced. You 
> would consider suing. You would wonder how in this day and age such 
> discrimination could occur.
>
>  Every day, people with disabilities seek the services of law enforcement, 
> domestic violence programs, Red Cross Shelters, rape treatment programs, 
> health care providers, businesses, attorneys, and others, and are denied 
> services because they have a disability. Architectural barriers that 
> should not exist remain. Sign language interpreters are not provided. 
> Policies that should be changed are not changed, and these policies 
> prevent people with disabilities from using the services they need. 
> Written materials are not offered in alternative formats. Service animals 
> are excluded.
>
>  If you are a person with a disability, these scenarios are all too 
> familiar. You recognize these denials for what they are  - civil rights 
> violations. These denials are as offensive, as hurtful, as harmful as 
> signs saying No Jews Allowed.
>
>  My family understands this all too well. I am Jewish. When my parents 
> were growing up, they were kicked out of school, for being Jewish.. Their 
> parents were no longer allowed to work, because they were Jewish. They 
> were beaten up by their neighbors, because they were Jewish. They could 
> not shop in the neighborhood grocery stores, because they were Jewish. 
> And, they were arrested, along with every other member of their family, 
> because they were Jewish.
>
>  Yes, it was another time and place. It was Poland, and Hitler was coming 
> to power. Discrimination was all around them, and grew, and grew.
>
>  I believe that I am well aware of the cost of social injustice and of the 
> abuse of power,  . My parents instilled in me an awareness of the 
> importance of public service, the cost of prejudice and abuse of power, 
> and of the debt I owe.
>
>  Both of my parents came to the United States in 1952, from Lodz, Poland. 
> My parents were both survivors of Hitler's concentration camps, and were 
> the only members of their respective families to survive.(They each had 7 
> brothers and sisters) Before the war, Lodz had the second largest Jewish 
> community in Europe. As of 1939, there were 230,000 Jews in Lodz. The 
> Germans moved them all into one area of the city, and walled it off. 
> Eventually, an additional 25,000 people were brought in (20,000 Jews, and 
> 5,000 Gypsies). The Germans then systematically starved and killed them.
>
>  Beginning in January of 1942, the Germans began transporting Jews from 
> Lodz to the Chelmno death camp, at a rate of approximately 1,000 a day. 
> Within 3 weeks, over 10,000 people had been transported. Between February 
> and April of 1942, over 34,000 more were taken away and killed. These 
> deportations continued month after month. In August 1944, the ghetto was 
> closed, and all remaining residents were transported by train to 
> Auschwitz. My parents and some members of their families were among this 
> group.
>
>  As of 1944, of the original 250,000 Jews in Lodz, 30,000 were still 
> alive.. Shortly before the end of the war, on January 18, 1945, the 
> Germans removed 66,000 Jews from Auschwitz, and in an effort to avoid 
> discovery by the Soviet Army, which was advancing toward the camp, marched 
> them in the snow for days, and shot them as they marched, trying to 
> destroy the evidence of what they had done. My father was on this death 
> march, but escaped by leading a group of prisoners into the forest, 
> emerging only when the Soviet Army arrived.
>
>  By the time they were liberated from Auschwitz at the end of the war, in 
> January 1945, only 15,000 of the original 250,000 jews in Lodz had 
> survived. An estimated 1, 500,000 Jews were killed at Auschwitz. All of my 
> parents' families, including their parents, their grandparents, their 
> cousins, their uncles, their aunts, their sisters, and their brothers, 
> were killed.
>
>  Upon their liberation from Auschwitz, my parents were sent to a Displaced 
> Persons camp, where they were kept for seven years. My sister was born in 
> and spent the first six years of her life in the Displaced Persons Camp. 
> In 1952, my parents emigrated to the United States.
>
>  I tell you this because it is essential that we understand that the 
> discrimination we address on behalf of people with disabilities is about 
> civil rights, and about what we as a nation stand for when it comes to 
> ensuring equal opportunity. When someone in a wheelchair is denied access 
> to shelter, or access to government services, or access to civic life, 
> they are experiencing discrimination. When someone who is deaf or hard of 
> hearing is denied access to health care because a doctor refuses to pay 
> for a qualified sign language interpreter, they are experiencing 
> discrimination. When someone who is blind is denied access to written 
> materials in accessible format, they are experiencing discrimination. Let’s 
> not be unclear about this. The denial of civil rights is the first step 
> toward seeing people with disabilities as inferior, and the first step to 
> allowing the kind of thinking that can lead us down a very dangerous path. 
> When the Nazis came to power, the first group killed were people with 
> disabilities. It is essential that we understand the parallels, and that 
> when we see discrimination, we stand up to it, and that we ally ourselves 
> with its victims. We need not see signs saying “No People with 
> Disabilities  Allowed” to understand that discrimination is occurring, and 
> that we need to do what we can, what we must, to remove those invisible, 
> yet powerful signs. Lack of intent is not the test. The test is whether 
> the discrimination occurs, and whether we have the will to overcome the 
> discrimination. I believe we do, if we work together, and if we have the 
> will to identify the discrimination for what it is.
>
>  Reproduction of this article is encouraged.
>
>
>
>
>
>  Marc Dubin, Esq.
>
>  Director of Advocacy, Center for Independent Living of South Florida
>
>  mdubin at pobox.com
>
>  Mobile: 305-896-3000
>
>  Fax: 877-731-3030
>
>  www.victimswithdisabilities.org
>
>  Chair, Florida Bar Disability Law Committee
>
>  http://disabilitylawcommittee.blogspot.com/
>
>  Former Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice 1993-2005 
> www.ada.gov
>
>  Former Special Counsel, Office on Violence Against Women, USDOJ
>
>  www.ovw.usdoj.gov/overview.htm
>
>  Founder & Executive Director, CAVNET    www.cavnet.org
>
>
>
>  ADA Expertise is owned and operated by Marc Dubin, Esq. Opinions posted 
> are posted in a private capacity, and are not to be construed to be the 
> opinions of the CIL, its employees, Board, or volunteers.
>
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>
>
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