‘I Do Feel Some Level of Solidarity… in an Individual Way’: Disability Solidarity, Disability Identity and the Role of Social Services

Research on social policy and solidarity often highlights disability as a paradigmatic case of a ‘deserving’ group that warrants social support. However, this hierarchical view of solidarity frequently ignores the role of solidarity in the lived experiences and everyday practices of disabled people themselves. Against the growing hopes of the disability movement and the social model of disability for a shared, cross-disability identity and solidarity, this study examines how ‘lay’ disabled individuals experience and engage in acts of horizontal solidarity with one another. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 18 Israeli disabled persons revealed four main themes: the spectrum of disability identities, the glue of disability identity, the facilitating factors shaping disability identity and acts of solidarity. These themes illustrate the diverse, complex and sometimes conflicting ways that solidarity is understood and practiced within the disability community.