Attitudes Towards Disability and Rehabilitation Among Political and Professional Leaders in Israeli Development Towns

Abstract

The process by which development towns were created in Israel engendered the need for welfare and rehabilitation services for a varied population. The present ex ploratory study focussed on the opinions of two groups of persons who supposedly represent and direct the social services in their communities — political leaders and professional leaders. A sample of 120 local leaders in ten development towns in northern Israel were individually interviewed on their attitudes towards disability and rehabilita tion, based on an original questionnaire. The results indicated several problems in attitudes towards disability and rehabilitation that can be seen as characteristic of local leadership, and possibly of the general population in Israeli development towns.

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