The Ruderman Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, Massachusetts, United States, managed by the Ruderman family. The foundation operates in the US and in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in two main areas: inclusion of people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

in society and strengthening the relationship between

and the

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from dias ...

community with the help of strategic philanthropy.

History

The Ruderman Family Foundation was established in 2002.

Jay Ruderman Jay Seth Ruderman (born March 16, 1966) is an American lawyer, disability rights activist and philanthropist. He is the president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. Early life and education Jay Ruderman was born in Boston to Marcia and Morton E. ...

is the president of the foundation, and his wife Shira is its executive director. In 2006, the foundation opened an office in Israel.

White papers

In March 2016, the Ruderman Family Foundation released a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...

, "Media coverage of law enforcement use of force and disability". It is an overview of media coverage from 2013 to 2015 of

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

's use of force against disabled individuals. The study was authored by historian David Perry and disabilities expert and advocate Lawrence Carter-Long. It concluded that disabled individuals make up a third to a half of individuals killed by law enforcement officers and many

use of force The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject". Use of force doctrines can be employed by law enforcement officers and military pers ...

cases, such as the deaths of

Eric Garner On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was killed in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the incide ...

, Kajieme Powell, and

Freddie Gray On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department over his legal possession of a knife. While being transported in a police van, Gray sustained injuries and was taken to ...

. The authors wrote that "police have become the default responders to mental health calls" and yet they continue to use force to obtain compliance from suspects without first evaluating whether a suspect is capable of understanding and complying with verbal orders. They recommended new training for officers and requested that the media also report forms of

disability discrimination Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableism character ...

when appropriate; "Disability is the missing word in media coverage of police misuse of force." The foundation's July 2016 white paper "On Employment of Actors with Disabilities in Television" revealed that people with disabilities are the most unrepresented minority in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. Despite making up nearly 20% of the US population, 95% of disabled characters on TV are portrayed by

Able-Bodied {{Short pages monitor