DecideAbility Israel:
Supported Decision-Making
Through Different Lenses

September 6, 2023

Agenda

14:00-14:30

Opening / Dr. Sigal Vax, JDC-Israel Unlimited
A “Fire Side” conversation: A supporter and a decision maker |
Susan Nirens & Audrey Belrose, Mosaica, Israel
Greetings /
Ben-Zion Figelson, Guardian General, Israeli Ministry of Justice
Efrat Stern, Director, JDC-Israel Unlimited

14:30-15:20
An Overview on Supported Decision Making from International and Israeli Lenses
Prof. Amita Dhanda, NALSAR University of Law, India; Dr. Mickey Schindler,
Director of MARVA, Israel; and Hila Rimon-Greenspan, The Myers-JDC-Brookdale
Institute, Israel
15:20-15:35 I Break
15:35-16:35

Evidence from Israel – TED lectures with International Commentary
Analysis of the supporter’s role / Ornit Dan, Administrator General, Ministry of Justice, Israel
Commentary: Nadia Shabani, The Bulgarian Center for Not-For-Profit Law, Bulgaria
Tailoring the support to the person’s needs, interests, and preferences / Miriam Sapir, Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, Israel
Commentary: Ieva Leimane-Veldmeijere, RC ZELDA, Latvia
Insights from the International Discourse / Prof. Israel Doron, University of Haifa, Israel

16:35-16:50 I Break
16:50-17:40

Group Discussions  (in breakout rooms)
Topic 1: The Supporter’s Role and Challenges: Boundaries, ethical issues,
conflicting values, and the matching process
Topic 2: The influence of supported decision-making on attitudes, paradigms,
and policies
Topic 3: From theory to Practice: Large Scale Implementation of the CRPD

17:40-17:55 I Conclusion

Yotam Tolub, the Independence Movement, Israel

Speakers

Prof. Amita Dhanda

Prof. Amita Dhanda

Amita Dhanda is Professor Emeritus at the NASLAR University of Law in India. She is a researcher and an activist. Prof. Dhanda was appointed as a member of the National Advisory Council for the implementation of the RTE act in 2010. She is also the Academic Counselor of Tamil Nadu National Law School. She has contributed to the research of Mental Health and disability studies in India and is the head of the Centre for Disability Studies in NALSAR. Amita Dhanda has authored three books and is also a guest writer for Kafila, along with few other online news magazines and national dailies.

Dr. Mickey Schindler

Dr. Mickey Schindler

Dr. Mickey Schindler, Esq., PhD (Law) is an attorney with training in social work who specializes in Elder and Disabilities Laws. He is the director of Marva – Law Welfare and Empowerment, a non-profit organization that assists and empower vulnerable sectors in Israeli society. The organization is one of the partners that run the pilot program of Supported Decision-Making in Israel. Dr. Schindler received his PhD from the Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law in 2012. He teaches interdisciplinary courses in law and social work and has published articles in numerous journals and books.

Hila Rimon-Greenspan

Hila Rimon-Greenspan

Hila Rimon-Greenspan is a disability researcher at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. Hila was previously a disability policy researcher at Bizchut, the Israel Human Rights Center for People with Disabilities. She is also the co-founder and coordinator of the Israeli Disability Studies Network (IDSN). Hila is the recipient of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute Jack Habib Award for Excellence for 2021. She holds an MA in Disability Studies from York University, Toronto, Canada.

Ornit Dan

Ornit Dan

Ornit Dan is the National Supervisor of Supported Decision Making at the Guardian General, Israel Ministry of Justice. She is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Supported Decision-Making procedure. As a social entrepreneur she has established and managed various frameworks for the integration of youth with physical disabilities-including youth on the autism spectrum – into the community. She concentrates on the social periphery of Israeli society.

Nadia Shabani

Nadia Shabani

Nadia Shabani is the Director of the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law (BCNL) where she is developing projects in legal and financial framework of CSOs, human rights protection and good governance. BCNL was among the leading organizations in ratifying UNCRPD in 2012 in Bulgaria. Since that time, Bulgaria has developed a community-based pilot program for introducing the supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship. The program resulted in a new progressive law on legal capacity in accordance with the standards of article 12 (Equality before the law) of the UNCRPD. 

Miriam Sapir

Miriam Ben-Lulu – Sapir

Miriam Ben-Lulu – Sapir, M.S.W., is the Federal Chief Executive Welfare Officer of legal matters at the Israeli Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services. She leads with a focus on effective social policies and impactful welfare programs, promoting the well-being of individuals with disabilities and children. She is leading the implementation of Decision Support Specialists and Legal Guardians into the welfare officers of legal matters system. Miriam generates partnerships with various stakeholders, including legal representatives, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and community organizations.

Ieva Leimane- Veldmeijere

Ieva Leimane-Veldmeijere

Ieva Leimane-Veldmeijere is the director of the Resource Centre for People with Mental Disability (‘ZELDA’) since June 2007. ZELDA is the only NGO in Latvia providing free legal aid and supported decision making to people with intellectual disability and/or psychosocial disability and their families. Over last ten years Ieva has led the team to successfully implement two pilot projects of supported decision making. Ieva holds an MA in Philosophy (University of Latvia) and an International Diploma in Mental Health Law and Human Rights (Indian Law Society’s Law College, Pune, India).

Prof. Israel (Issi) Doron

Prof. Israel (Issi) Doron

Prof. Israel (Issi) Doron, LL.B.; LL.M.: Ph.D. is the Dean of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences at the University of Haifa, and the Past President of the Israeli Gerontological Society. He specializes in the fields of law and ageing, social policy, human rights and ageism. Prof. Doron has written extensively on topics such as socio-legal construction of old age, human rights of older persons, and is the editor/co-editor of key books in the field. Finally, Prof. Doron is a social activist, and the founder of “Law in the Service of the Elderly” association.

Yotam Tolub

Yotam Tolub

Yotam Tolub is a disability rights activist, co-founder of The Independent Movement NGO. Currently writing his PhD on the intersection of persons with disability and older persons’ rights. He is a researcher at The Minerva Center on Intersectionality in Aging (MCIA) at the University of Haifa.

About us

Supported Decision Making (SDM) is a legal arrangement and alternative to guardianship. Adults (over 18) who are capable of making decisions, but have difficulty gathering or understanding information, can appoint decision supporters to help them make and carry out their decisions. 

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The Administrator General, Commissioner of Insolvency Proceedings and the Succession Cases Registrar is a unit at the Ministry of Justice composed of three executive arms: The Administrator General, the Commissioner of Insolvency Proceedings and the Succession Cases Registrar.

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JDC-Israel Unlimited is a strategic partnership between JDC Israel and the Israeli government, aimed at maximizing the independence and autonomy of people with disabilities through increasing equality in social and economic participation. The partnership is guided by a holistic person-centered approach, that sees the person and their needs, abilities, and desires, rather than focusing on the constraints, challenges, and impairments.

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Resources

Sustainable Supported Decision-Making

Prof. Amita Dhanda

Best Practice in Supported Decision Making: A View From Israel

Hila Rimon-Greenspan

Supported Decision Making in Israel From Theory to Practice

Ornit Dan

legal capacity:
the role of supporter

Nadia Shabani

Supported Decision Making
From the perspective of Social Work in Israel

Miriam Sapir

Tailoring the support to the person’s needs, interests and perfernces: Commentary

Ieva Leimane- Veldmeijere

Additional Resources