Traditionally, the people of Israel have always recognized the special needs of people with limitations. An indication of this can be found in Samuel II, where it is written that “Yehonatan the son of Saul had a son, age five, who was lame in his legs.”
According to the Equal Rights Law for People with Limitations 1996, “The rights of people with limitations are founded on the recognition of equal rights for all people… the rights of people with limitations and the commitment of Israeli society to those rights, based on the recognition of the value of people who were created in the divine image, and the principle of respect for humanity… the purpose of this law is to protect the dignity and liberty of people with limitations, and to firmly establish their rights as equal and active participants in society in all areas of life, and to appropriately provide for their special needs so that they will be able to live their lives with maximum independence, privacy and dignity, and full realization of their potential.”