ISRAEL Comments turned off

This Week Today Current Events from Israel: Rabbi Ben Packer

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

https://mailchi.mp/dd9d88d97a17/israel-current-events

Iran/Hezbollah/other evil crazies have still not retaliated for the recent assassinations of terrorist leaders. Why is that is the question that everyone is asking. Is it a strategic move? Are they scared of the repercussions? Are they waiting for a hostage/ceasefire deal in Gaza to get them out of the whole situation, at least temporarily? My bet is on the last one. As time has gone by, the pressure for a deal to free at least some of the hostages has intensified. Israel could try some kind of rescue attempt in the near future, but barring that, it would seem a deal is on the way, along with a way out for Iran/Hezbollah/Yemen and possibly Hamas, at least in the short term. I’m not saying I think this is a good idea, but I think this is where this is going. 

Meanwhile in Gaza
The IDF continues to hammer away at terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. In an attack on a terrorist headquarters located in a school, at least 31 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed. The Muslims and their allies have labeled the successful attack a massacre. Idiots. An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Gaza this week by a sniper. Despite this tragedy, there are many successes in the field. It all comes back to the original gamble by the head of Hamas Sinwar – how long can Israel continue to destroy Hamas before the international/domestic pressure stops it. If they get to Sinwar and his lieutenants, total victory can be achieved. Otherwise, Hamas remains a threat in Gaza. 

I read an interesting take this week that suggested that as long as the religious/right-wing community is willing to stay in reserve duty and fight in Gaza, the war will keep going. In essence, a grassroots situation where the lower ranking soldiers force the hand of the secular leftist leadership. A fascinating phenomenon indeed. 

Of course, occasionally the secular left will fight back, like they have in persecuting the reservists who are accused of abusing an imprisoned Nukhba terrorist from Oct. 7th. They even brought in the terrorist to testify! Let’s just say that in traditional Judaism we invalidate the legitimacy of testimony of a witness for much less than the hideous crimes of  Oct. 7th. As of now the soldiers have been released to house arrest. It’s a nice attempt to kill the morale of the other reservists, but unlikely to work. 

Finally, the top brass of the army and other security services (ie. secular leftists) are currently very publicly emphasizing their approval of any hostage deal, even one requiring a full pull out of Israeli forces from Gaza, including the border area with Egypt. Obviously, it’s not their job to support or oppose any deal, so it makes such behavior even more suspicious. They want this war over so they can start planning their asylum in Portugal. They might be surprised at how much of Israel would support such a move by them, but want the war to continue, without them in charge. 

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Harris’s Kamunist Agenda Faces Harsh Reality The socialists funneling ideas to Harris have put together an economic plan redolent of Venezuela or, indeed, the Soviet Union. By Roger Kimball

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

ttps://amgreatness.com/2024/08/18/harriss-kamunist-agenda-faces-harsh-reality/

Don’t cry for me, Argentina.

Cry for Kamala the Kamunist.

It took them a while, it’s true, but at least Argentina has someone with a rudimentary knowledge of economics in charge.

Indeed, Javier Milei, one of my favorite leaders on the world stage today (along with Viktor Orbán, Benjamin Netanyahu, Georgia Meloni, and Nayib Bukele) is a Trump-like dynamo.  If I had a more developed entrepreneurial bent, I would try marketing a line of Milei chainsaws in the United States.  Just as he took a chainsaw (sometimes literally) to excessive spending, regulation, and bureaucracy in Argentina, so my Mielei Chainsaws could be employed against waste, fraud, and abuse here across the fruited plain. Milei’s robust policies have put Argentina on the runway to economic success. They have slashed inflation—some 200% when he took office—and his abolition of rent control—surprise, surprise—has sparked a 195% rise in available housing stock.

Meanwhile, the socialists funneling ideas to Harris have put together an economic plan redolent of Venezuela or, indeed, the Soviet Union.  Its centerpiece revolves around centrally promulgated and enforced wage and price controls—a recipe for shortages and inflation.

The plan itself has been ridiculed across the ideological spectrum, from CNN to The Wall Street Journal.  “Harris’ plan to stop price gouging,” quoth CNN in a masterpiece of understatement,  “could create more problems than it solves.”

The WSJ was a bit franker. For one thing, there is “no evidence that supermarkets or other food retailers are gouging anyone. Food prices are higher than they were before the Biden Presidency, but that is because of inflation.”

And who caused that inflation, Kemo Sabe? The man with the keys to the money duplicating machine, Joe Biden or his handlers.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Stephen Schecter :Canada is showing us how societies collapse. The country is a microcosm for the Western world increasingly becoming a joke — a well-deserved one — and Israel would benefit from keeping its distance.

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

https://www.futureofjewish.com/subscribe?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=email-subscribe&r=1gcx7u&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.futureofjewish.com%2Fp%2Fthe-west-is-becoming-a-joke&utm_medium=email

Last week, Gay Pride Vancouver held its annual parade, only to cancel it half-way through because 20 to 30 “pro-Palestinian” masked protestors blocked the route of the parade at its mid-way point.

The police said the protest was peaceful and no arrests were made, not even for causing a public disturbance. The organizers stated afterwards that the decision to cancel the parade was not taken lightly, but as “the right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy.”

Given that they “stand in solidarity with the protestors,” the organizers decided to cancel the rest of the parade and “focused on ensuring that our Parade participants and those who came to watch the parade dispersed safely.”

Wasn’t that nice of them?

Having not attended the parade myself, unlike Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sporting a gay rainbow on a black t-shirt, I cannot vouch that among the parade participants this year there was the usual float of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid; but even if there was, it clearly was not enough for the more militant of the LGBTQ2TS+ community, who clearly felt obliged to make a more fervent statement supporting people who rape, mutilate, burn, and murder men, women, and children.

That they did so in their usual cowardly fashion, masking their faces, puts them right alongside the keffiyeh-sporting Palestinians they so adore and champion, as tightly bound to them as they can get without jumping into bed with them. For that, of course, they would be thrown off Gaza rooftops, but this prospect never seems to penetrate their dimwit brains, just as supporting vile murderers never strikes them as perhaps an abuse of free speech.

Nor does it occur to the Vancouver Police Department that this “peaceful protest” on behalf of crazed rapists that put an end to a parade is perhaps a violation of public order and a crime akin to shouting fire in a crowded cinema. But nothing of that sort seems to cross the minds of the good denizens of Vancouver, who pride themselves on the spirit of community that celebrates dead Jews.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Dark Money Intimidation Group Attacking Election Lawyers By Hayden Ludwig

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

https://tomklingenstein.com/the-dark-money-intimidation-group-attacking-election-lawyers/

Amid last-minute rule changes, widely reported ballot irregularities, and an unprecedented movement away from secure, in-person voting, the 2020 election that installed Joe Biden became one of the most hotly contested in American history.

Given this uncertainty, Donald Trump and his allies, including a number of highly qualified attorneys, raised their concerns in the avenue provided by the Constitution: our court system. For this, Trump’s lawyers have been smeared relentlessly in the media, dragged through costly and damaging professional reviews, and bullied into silence or retreat.

That persecution did not happen organically. The intimidation campaign against Trump’s lawyers, and against any who dissented from the approved narrative, was a highly coordinated effort directed from the very center of the Democratic machine.

And the cabal at the heart of this war on blind justice is The 65 Project — named for the number of lawsuits filed by concerned citizens after the 2020 election — driven by David Brock, the consigliere of the professional left. Brock began his career as a conservative hero who exposed the Democrats’ smear campaign against future Justice Clarence Thomas as well as Bill Clinton’s “Troopergate” sex scandal — only to turncoat by becoming an accomplice of Hillary Clinton and disavowing his former career as a “right-wing hit man.”

For his betrayal, Brock was handsomely rewarded by Clinton allies, who helped him architect a constellation of far-left attack groups known as the “Brocktopus”, most notably Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century, both of which are closely connected with the 65 Project today.

The partisan bias is obvious. Media Matters is the chief attack dog of the Democratic Party, which smears mainstream Republicans as bigoted racists with funding from George Soros, the Tides Foundation, and the National Education Association. It’s currently facing a defamation lawsuit from Elon Musk’s X which alleges the hit group manufactured a report showing advertiser posts next to neo-Nazi posts to drive away major advertisers such as Disney and Apple from the platform. Missouri has joined in with a separate lawsuit accusing Media Matters of fraudulent business practices for fundraising off its anti-X campaign.

American Bridge is the left’s “gaffe database” created to track and record every word spoken by Republican politicians in the hopes of digging up a juicy line to blast over the airwaves. Its most infamous victim was Todd Akin, a former Missouri congressman and 2012 Senate candidate who used the infelicitous term “legitimate rape” during a radio interview — a flub that killed his political career. 

ISRAEL, NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Iran’s Mullahs and Their Deadly Serious Plan: The Total Annihilation of Israel and the US by Majid Rafizadeh

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20866/iran-annihilation-israel-us

This conflict is a battle for survival not only for Israel but for the region, and ultimately for Europe and the United States.

Israel understands the stakes: Iran’s belligerency requires an unequivocally committed response from the United States. In that part of the world, wishy-washy means a green light, open season. The consequences are assumed to vary from minimal to non-existent – and often even a profit!

Iran has no interest in becoming a sand dune. That is why it has proxies, so that they will do the attacking and take the incoming retaliation, ensuring that their devoted patron, Iran, will not have to. Iran’s proxies are its human shields.

“Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran’s maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It’s America, the guardian of Western civilization and the world’s greatest power. That’s why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy…. That’s why the mobs in Tehran chant ‘Death to Israel’ before they chant ‘Death to America.’ For Iran Israel is first, America is next…. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons…. [that] threaten every American city…. we’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you.” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Address to US Congress, July 25, 2024.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei… has gone as far as proclaiming to the youth of Iran that they will soon witness the downfall of both Israel and American civilization.

Has anyone noticed how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat of using nuclear weapons succeeded in intimidating the Biden-Harris administration? Why wasn’t the Biden-Harris administration intimidating Putin?

As [General Hossein] Salami [chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] boasted, Iran has empowered its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, to such an extent that it now has the capability to “wipe out Israel” on its own. — timesofisrael.com, January 28, 2019.

The US should make it unequivocally clear that any entity that attacks Israel will face costs it cannot even imagine.

The Iranian regime and its proxies appear to believe they have the perfect opportunity to eradicate Israel. They perceive a weak administration in the United States under President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris: the US has released billions of dollars that mainly assist Iran in arming its proxies.

The stakes could not be higher. The United States must prevent Iran’s unfathomably dangerous prophecy from becoming a lethal reality.

The war initiated against Israel on October 7 by the Iranian regime, along with its proxies and terrorist groups — Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Shia militias — is far more than a minor skirmish or an isolated act of aggression.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

On Gov. Tim Walz, Covid lockdown fanatic At least he came by his insanity honestly (unlike his descriptions of his military service); ex-Minnesotan and censor-in-chief Andy Slavitt was one of his top advisors: Alex Berenson

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/on-gov-tim-walz-covid-lockdown-fanatic

Everything is connected. Especially Covid authoritarians.

Before he conspired to violate my civil rights and make Twitter ban my journalism in 2021, Democratic healthcare operative Andrew M. Slavitt was a top Covid advisor to Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

With Slavitt’s encouragement, Walz pushed a tight lockdown on his state. He encouraged residents to snitch on each other on a state-run hotline. And he sharply tightened Minnesota’s rules on gatherings in November 2020, long after it was clear Covid was a threat mainly to the very elderly and could not cause hospital overrun.

How badly did Walz panic in fall 2020? He essentially destroyed Thanksgiving. On Nov. 19, 2020, one week before the holiday, Walz barred “indoor or outdoor [emphasis added] gatherings, except with immediate household members” and added “no person from outside your immediate household should enter your home.” He also closed bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, organized sports, and pools.

Of course, months earlier, when protests and riots over the death of George Floyd had rocked Minneapolis in May and June 2020, Walz had taken a different view. “We certainly believe that there’s a right that people have to gather,” he told reporters.

Walz’s crackdowns received less attention than those by Democratic governors in states like California and New York.

But his power grab was arguably more problematic because Minnesota is more closely politically divided than the coastal blue states and Walz’s lockdown faced more open opposition. In spring 2020, the protests were fairly narrow.

But after Walz’s November orders, business owners openly revolted, and police largely refused to enforce the rules.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

The Polls Have Shifted Toward Harris. Is It Real, or Something Else?

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

https://dnyuz.com/2024/08/16/the-polls-have-shifted-toward-harris-is-it-real-or-something-else/

Last week’s New York Times/Siena College polls showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading in three swing states led some Republicans and Democrats to ask the same question: Is this real?

At the center of this question is whether the Times/Siena polls have enough voters who supported Donald J. Trump in 2020. The Trump campaign released a memo arguing that our polls would have actually showed a Trump lead if we had weighted the results properly.

The Trump campaign’s critique focused on something pollsters refer to as “recalled vote.” In the polls of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, respondents recalled backing President Biden over Mr. Trump by six points, 52 percent to 46 percent, even though Mr. Biden actually won these three states by an average of about 1.5 points. The Trump campaign used this data point to say Mr. Trump would have led if the poll had the “right” number of Trump 2020 supporters.

This isn’t an absurd argument. In recent years, many pollsters have embraced recalled vote in exactly the way the Trump campaign describes: as an accurate measure of how people voted in the last election, which can then be used to evaluate the partisan balance of the sample. As an idea, it makes logical sense.

But over the longer run, recalled vote hasn’t usually been very reliable. Oddly enough, this is one of the first things I remember learning when I started getting interested in polling methodology in the fall of 2004. Back then, it was George W. Bush who led the polls, and it was the Democrats trying to prove that the polls were skewed. Among other things, they argued the polls had too many Bush ’00 voters, based on recalled vote.

A CBS News/Times poll at the time, for instance, found Mr. Bush and John Kerry tied, but Bush ’00 voters outnumbered Al Gore ’00 voters by six points. Mr. Gore won the popular vote in 2000; if the poll had the “right” number of Gore supporters, Democrats thought, Mr. Kerry would have led — perhaps by a lot. Plausible, right?

Needless to say, the polls leading up to Mr. Bush’s 2004 re-election were not badly underestimating Mr. Kerry, as the recalled vote implied. This is not an isolated occurrence: Asking how people voted in the last election has been unreliable dating all the way to the earliest polls.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

POSITIVE NEWS FROM ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

Posted By on August 18th, 2024

http://www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

With the fall approaching violent anti-Israel campus protests will resume abetted by new “free speech” rules crafted by biased and craven administrators and faculty. This list is the best antidote to the ignorance and bias of academia and media. Welcome back Michael Ordman. rsk

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
 
The most moral army in history. The High Level International Military Group comprises former NATO chiefs of staff, generals, senior officers, political leaders and officials. Its July 2024 analysis of the IDF’s war against Hamas was sent to the International Criminal Court. It praises the IDF’s moral conduct of the war.
https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2024/08/israels-army-is-not-only-moral-it-is.html
https://unwatch.org/key-findings-of-the-high-level-international-military-group-on-the-gaza-conflict/
https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/0902ebd180920f26.pdf
 
New bullet-proof ambulances. The Israeli Police has inaugurated its first bullet-proof ambulances. They will enhance the safety of search and rescue forces, particularly in high-risk areas. They were funded and supported by non-profits Israel Friends and Let’s Do Something (LDS) which have both raised millions since Oct 7.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/07/17/police-inaugurates-new-bulletproof-ambulances-the-first-in-history/
https://israfan.com/p/israel-police-bulletproof-ambulances  https://israelfriends.us/
 
Survivor rates. IDF medics are measured by the metric CFR (case fatality rate) – the percentage of wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefield whom they failed to save. In the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the CFR stood at 15%. In the Gaza War, the CFR is 6.5%, due to more medics, faster evacuation and blood products.
https://www.thejc.com/lets-talk/analysis/how-the-idf-is-using-lessons-from-gaza-to-teach-the-us-how-to-minimise-casualties-pohyab6f
 
2,000 BGU student hospital volunteers. More than 2,000 medical, nursing, and social work students from Ben-Gurion University volunteered in hospitals throughout Israel in the days immediately Oct 7. They provided medical and psychological assistance to the thousands of injured Israelis and their families.
https://timesofsandiego.com/health/2024/07/06/israeli-surgeon-visiting-san-diego-recalls-medical-students-rushing-to-help-oct-7-victims/
 
Brothers saved thousands. (TY Miller Group) On Oct 7, South African brothers Keith and Brett Isaacson risked their lives to protect Gaza border communities. Brett, defended the Mivtahim Junction, the main access point to 7 moshavim. Keith, head of security for 32 Eshkol region communities, blocked further attacks.
https://www.sajr.co.za/heroic-south-african-brothers-saved-thousands/
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Turning a parasite into a brain healer. Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv and Glasgow Universities have engineered the parasite Toxoplasma gondii to deliver protein-based medical treatments through the blood-brain barrier. Their example delivered the protein MeCP2, to remedy a deficiency associated with Rett syndrome.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-scientists-turn-parasite-into-brain-healer/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01750-6
 
Step sensor measures brain disease progression. Researchers in Tel Aviv have developed a wearable step sensor to monitor the wellbeing of the elderly and patients with cognitive decline or neurological diseases. Reductions in step length are important indicators for assessing patients with Parkinson’s, MS, etc.
https://www.israel21c.org/step-length-sensor-monitors-neurological-disease-progression/
 
Smartwatch software monitors stress levels. The NeuroSpeed AI analysis software from Israel’s NeuroBrave (see here previously) uses the photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor on the back of a smartwatch to measure he length of time between heartbeats. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a good indicator of overall mental health.
https://nocamels.com/2024/07/smartwatch-tracks-your-mental-health-through-your-heartbeat/
 
Proven to prevent pre-term deaths. Recent trials of the Lioness device developed by Israel’s PregnanTech (see here previously) showed a high rate of full-term births among women at high risk of pre-term birth. A US trial next year is planned, to help the company obtain FDA approval.
https://nocamels.com/2024/07/new-device-helps-pregnant-women-avoid-dangerous-preterm-births/
https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(24)00595-7/fulltext
 
Better chances for fertility treatment. Israel’s BAIBYS uses Machine Vision (MV) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to select the best quality sperm for IVF success. It autonomously selects and collects the sperm to microinject into the egg. It uses high magnification and morphology (shape, structure, size, etc.).
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hyu7zxgqa  https://www.baibys.com/
 
Going beyond. Israel’s Dr. Linda Rubinstein moved from NASA to Sheba Medical Center and from Outer Space research to Inner space research. Her work focuses on mitochondria (the cell’s powerhouse). Stopping it from aging could contribute to the eradication of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/kg6kb2y0a
 
50 blood infusers donated. Harvard University Business Professor Regina Herzlinger has donated 50 life-saving blood infuser devices to about 20 Israeli hospitals and trauma centers. They replace blood lost during hemorrhaging and are especially crucial in the treatment of those wounded in the current war.
https://israfan.com/p/american-israelis-donation-aids-medical-care-soldiers-injured-gaza
 
Making US hospital treatment more affordable. Israel’s PayZen has developed a fintech platform that allows hospitals to receive payment in advance for medical treatment invoices, thereby enabling US patients to benefit from interest-free payment plans without additional costs for their medical care.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sjwbj1y9a  https://payzen.com/
 

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

A Borderline Election by Lawrence Kadish

Posted By on August 16th, 2024

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20867/borderline-election

In this presidential election year, it is time to do the math.

Not the traditional math of counting electors, calculating swing states voters, or debating polling data. No. It’s time to do the math regarding the profound and stunning increase in the number of new citizens who will be eligible to vote in this year’s exercise in democracy.

According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) the fiscal year 2022 saw one million new citizens sworn in, citing it as the highest number of naturalizations in nearly 15 years. The government agency says this number reflects the Biden Administration’s effort to address the backlog of applications that had grown during the COVID pandemic.

The FY 2023 statistics saw 878,500 new citizens participate in naturalization ceremonies that make them eligible to vote. By doing the math, we find that naturalizations in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 made up nearly a quarter of all naturalizations over the past decade.

It is as if Washington seeks to consciously create a demographic sea change as to who will now be able to go to the polls in 2024.

There is a Pew study breakdown of where these new voters are coming from.

Their report reveals that Mexico is the top country of birth for U.S. immigrants. It states that in 2022, over 10 million immigrants living in the U.S. were born there, or 23% of all immigrants. India, with the second-largest share, was far behind at 6%, followed by China came at five percent, the Philippines at four percent, and the Latin American nation of El Salvador stood at three percent.

What these various numbers mean is that the nation’s electoral base has changed over the last four years, either through a deliberate political calculation or by happenstance. For those of us who don’t believe in coincidences, it potentially represents a subtle, even unscrupulous, strategy to change the outcome on Election Day.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Sensitivity Training from the Left By Eileen F. Toplansky

Posted By on August 16th, 2024

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/08/sensitivity_training_from_the_left.html

Throughout the year, college instructors are required to have mandatory faculty training. This month it is “Disability Cultural Responsiveness for Faculty: Improving Communication and Understanding.” It was led by Sara Sanders Gardner, the autistic designer of Bellevue College’s Neurodiversity Navigators Program, established in 2011.

Consequently “autistic people prefer identity first language, i.e., “disabled, autistic” whereas parents and professionals often prefer person first language, i.e., “person with autism. Yet, according to Gardner whose pronouns are (they/them), the latter “is awkward syntax, separates the disability from a person, and shows a desire to be distant from the disability.”

In fact, “a push to treat autism as a cultural identity is challenging notions of it as a disorder.”

Unlike past training which promoted euphemistic language, now teachers are to avoid euphemisms such as “on the spectrum,” “differently abled,” “challenged,” or “diffability” because “embracing the word ‘disability’ and normalizing it as an aspect of identity has the potential to lead to positive psychological health outcomes.”

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. This includes individuals with physical or mental impairments that limit major life activities.

According to Gardner, it is “not necessary to know the details of, or even the name of, a student’s disability to respond to, include, and communicate with them effectively.” Thus, words need to be used to “avoid a clinical relationship” — rather, it should be a “human relationship.”

Instead, one needs to consider “what barrier is the student experiencing and how can they be supported by recognizing their strengths?” For example, wearing glasses would indicate a disability concerning sight but no one really sees wearing glasses as a disability. But clearly some disabilities are not readily apparent. What is the effect on a person’s self-esteem? (As a side note, I have always admired how Israel incorporates autistic individuals into the military. Thus, a disability is turned into an asset.)