Demonstration for the disabled, Monday.
Photo: Ofer Meir
Hundreds protest outside Knesset during Netanyahu speech
The prime minister may have spoken of broadcasting corporations and settlement outposts during his speech at the opening of the Knesset's winter session, but outside the parliament's doors two main activist groups demonstrated separately for peace and higher social benefits for the disabled.
While not widely discussed within the Israeli parliament's halls during the opening events for its winter session, the topics of peace with the Palestinians and benefits for disabled Israelis had a strong presence outside the Knesset on Monday.
About 500 activists from Women Wage Peace (WWP), an organization of women advocating for peace accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, demonstrated outside the Knesset.
Meanwhile, an unrelated protest was held by dozens of activists demanding the government raise basic benefits for disabled people, which currently stand at NIS 2,342 per month.
Women Wage Peace protest outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, Monday. (Photo: Ofer Meir)
The two groups interacted with each other, clapping for each side's speakers. "We are fighting for the same things – justice for people whom society and the government in Israel have abandoned and forgotten," said Etti, a WWP demonstrator.
The government has approved an NIS 300 million raise in disability benefits in recent months, which amounts to about NIS 90 per disabled person on average. Advocacy groups for the disabled reacted with anger to the lower-than-expected benefits hike, mentioning their years-long struggle to raise them by about NIS 3.5 billion.
According to an examination by Ynet, the family of nearly one in four disabled people in Israel lives under the poverty line. The National Insurance Institute (NII) demanded that the increase in benefits be larger, since research it conducted in 2013 showes that current levels do not allow for a minimal standard of living.
