“Across all political parties, including those that published their
economic platform, there is no mention of the weak elements of society
in general and the elderly and the helpless in particular. Everyone's
talking about the middle classes, about creating more jobs, about
integrating various populations into the work force, and so on.
Important issues, to be sure. But no party has spoken out about those
who can no longer work for a living and are dependent on the goodwill of
the state."
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
Israeli Elderly Often Suffer From Extreme Poverty While Israeli Politicians Ignore Their Plight, Rabbi Says
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Writing in Ynet, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president and founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, points out that 20% of all Israelis are poor and that the weakest part of all of Israeli society are the poor elderly.
If a government’s behavior toward its poor elderly is seen as a mirror that reflects the face of a society, Eckstein says, “I’m afraid most of us [Israelis} would shudder at the image reflected back at us.”
And for good reason.
According to Eckstein, about 10% Israelis are elderly; 20% of them are poor.
Elderly who have no income from pension or savings get income-support allowances from the government that bring their total income up to “NIS 2,700 (about $730) for a single person and NIS 4000 ($1,080) for a couple” – an amount, Eckstein points out, that is “nowhere near enough for a person or a family to subsist on, even at the most basic level.”
And winter makes this crushing poverty even worse.
“The elderly are more susceptible than other people to the hazards of cold winter weather. With old age, comes a decline in the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. The cold has severe health repercussions. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Senior Citizens routinely publishes guidelines on measures that should be adopted by the elderly in order to protect themselves from cold-related injuries. These measures include keeping one's home at a constant temperature of 24 deg. C. [75º Fahrenheit], ensuring good nutrition, and engaging in physical exercise. The chief problem is that many of the elderly lack the means to follow these guidelines.
"Scores of thousands of destitute old people cannot afford the high cost of heating, and are forced to forego heating their home, whether some of the time or on a regular basis. Their meager income makes them face the the inhuman quandary of choosing between heating and other necessities such as food and medication, engaging in social activities and visiting their relatives. It is unacceptable that such a phenomenon exists in a country that prides itself on its economic achievements and financial soundness,” Eckstein wrote.
Eckstein’s group helps thousands of elderly people through grants for heating costs and by distributing blankets and/or heaters.
But a charity’s actions can’t replace what a government should be doing on its own.
“[O]ur actions are meant to complement the state's efforts, not carry the major burden of the state's responsibility for its citizens,” Eckstein wrote. According to him, “the state provides only a very partial solution to senior citizens' needs by giving some of them discounts on electricity bills and giving heating grants to another 30 or 40 thousand seniors; but the actual need is far beyond those numbers.”
With Israel’s national elections scheduled for January 22, you might think that its plethora of political parties would, at the very least, at least give lip service to this issue. You might think that, but according to Eckstein you would be wrong. Benjamin Netanyahu, Tzipi Livini, Shaul Mofaz, Avigdor Lieberman, Rabbi Moshe Gafne, Rabbi Aryeh Deri, and dozens of other national politicians have been completely silent as elderly Israelis literally go cold and hungry.
“Across all political parties, including those that published their economic platform, there is no mention of the weak elements of society in general and the elderly and the helpless in particular. Everyone's talking about the middle classes, about creating more jobs, about integrating various populations into the work force, and so on. Important issues, to be sure. But no party has spoken out about those who can no longer work for a living and are dependent on the goodwill of the state.
“Senior officials at the National Insurance Institution admit that the allowances they provide are barely enough to cover half the cost of the basic needs of the impoverished elderly.
The elderly cannot go out and protest. They remain far from the public eye, suffering quietly.
“This shameful situation cannot go on – it is a blot on the country's honor.
“As a society, we cannot remain idle. We all bear the responsibility of demanding from the political candidates a real solution for the helpless people. After all, these are our parents, our grandparents, and this is our fate, too, if we do not come to our senses,” Eckstein wrote.
What Eckstein does not talk about is an uncomfortable truth – the money that should be going to these poor, needy elderly is instead being used for what amount to what we would call in the United States political pork: stipends for haredi yeshiva students and child payments to encourage and support their large families, for example.
A person who chooses not to get a secular education, who chooses not to join the workforce and who instead chooses to spend his life studying in a yeshiva may be admirable, but he is not legitimately poor. He should be supported by grants from working family member and from haredi charities – not from public funds.
But Israel uses its welfare payments and yeshiva stipends like political pork, to buy cooperation from haredi leaders and backing for political coalition from haredi political parties.
While all of Israeli society suffers from this corrosive behavior, in truth it is the very poor, the sick and disabled, and the elderly who suffer from it the most.