Hanan Hurwitz, chairman of Israel Stuttering Association (AMBI), on Monday came out against the mockery of Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz following Gantz’s interview a week ago with news anchor Yonit Levy, in which he stammered badly. The incident has been since pinned on Gantz’s fatigue and his inexperience with being interviewed over satellite, with long pauses between questions.
Hurvitz issued a statement saying: “Stuttering is not a weakness. In the current election campaign we are witnessing an offensive and disparaging discourse emanating from the various parties, politicians and media personalities, who use stuttering as an expression of weakness, without understanding the pain this inflicts on people who stutter and on their families.
“When you are disrespectful about stammering and turn it into a ridiculous thing in your conversation, you create the feeling among the general public that stuttering people are inferior, mentally handicapped and lack intelligence.
“It’s time to stop ridiculing people who stammer, and certainly stop using the word stammering as a derogatory term.”
AMBI seeks to enhance public knowledge about stuttering, runs self-help groups and promotes affordable treatment for people who stutter. It also organizes conferences and meetings for people who stutter, speech language therapists and anyone interested in stuttering.
