Ayalon Highway briefly closed for disabled's protest

Police close one of Israel's busiest roads from Herzliya to Tel Aviv for half an hour as well as Azrielly junction as people with disabilities demand their benefits are raised to equal minimum wage; later, protesters block roads at airport.

Reuters | Published: 08.28.18, 19:29

The police closed the southbound Ayalon Highway, one of Israel's busiest roads, from Herzliya to Tel Aviv for half an hour on Tuesday evening due to a demonstration by people with disabilities at HaShalom Interchange.

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The junction near the Azrielly Mall in central Tel Aviv was also closed in all directions because of the demonstration.

Some 100 protesters demanded their disability benefits be raised to equal minimum wage, and were carrying signs slamming Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.

Police close Ayalon Highway

The demonstration was held under the banner of "Justice to all Elderly and Disabled," with organizers saying the government continues ignoring their plight and their demand to live in dignity.

On Tuesday night, some 20 disabled protesters blocked the four lanes on the road leading to Terminal 3 at Ben-Gurion International Airport for an hour and 15 minutes until they were allowed inside, following which they blocked the exit road for arrivals.

Boris Asipovich, one of the protesters, explained that "the great majority of the disabled lost their ability to work when they were still at an age they could work, and that means no one is insured against such trouble. Today it's me and tomorrow, heavens forbid, it might be you."

He dismissed Treasury officials' warnings of the effect increasing the disability benefits could have on the economy, saying "They're trying to scare us that the economy would collapse, but look at where the people's money is going. They force us to save at the expense of basic necessities, while billions of the National Insurance Institute's funds are taken out of our pockets for unknown things."

(צילום: מתן טורקיה)

Yitzhak, another demonstrator, bemoaned the fact that "Kahlon made promises that were recorded, and didn't keep a single one. Any attempt of dialogue with him has not gone well. He transfers money to the rich, his conduct is dismissive. He said no 'elderly mother' will be cold at night, but many 'elderly mothers' have to decide whether to buy medicine or a heater for the winter."

Another protester, Ayala Moshe, charged that "rather than have the National Insurance Institute's money go to the insured disabled and elderly, it's put into the state budget for politicians who are advancing the needs of their ministries. We want the money to be returned to the disabled, who have had the threat of starvation hanging over their heads for years. This is the public's money and it's the institutional corruption of the system."

"100,000 people with disabilities don't leave their homes, so they don't have to spend a shekel," lamented Dov, another protester. "They lie at home half naked in the summer to not spend electricity on air conditioning and cover themselves up in a hundred blankets in the winter to not spend money on heating. They're depressed and they feel guilty for becoming a burden on their families, and some commit suicide because of that. They are torn between purchasing medicine and purchasing food. They die of the health and nutritional neglect because of the low benefits, and the state is responsible."

The basic disability benefits were raised to NIS 3,270 ($900) per month under a new law that increased the benefits for the first time in 16 years. Under the law, the benefits will be raised to NIS 3,700 ($1,020) at a later stage, but there has been no date set for that. The protesters, meanwhile, demand their disability benefits be raised to NIS 5,300 ($1,460), equal to minimum wage.

Organizers said the demonstration also includes elderly people who are protesting their own benefits, which stand at NIS 1,535 ($423).

"Finance Minister Kahlon made promises and didn't keep them," said Yonatan Tadmor, one of the organizers of the demonstration. "The highest benefits for 100% disability stand at NIS 3,200, very far from minimum wage. Every year, 70 people with disabilities commit suicide because they don't want to be a burden on their family and because they can't live in dignity."