Conveniently passing this political hot potato, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has sent a letter to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, calling upon the ministry to assist in the matter of severely disabled Operation Protective Edge veteran Yehuda HaYisraeli of Yishuv Ofra. After close to two years of medical care and rehabilitation, HaYisraeli is ready to return home to Ofra but the Defense Ministry will not fund the renovations to accommodate him because the homes in Ofra are not legal despite the fact the community was establishment by Israeli governments. As a result, he cannot return home for the latter is not wheelchair accessible.

When the family realized it was up against a brick wall it turned to the tzibur to raise the required funds privately, and B”H the public donated over NIS 1.3 million.

Mr. Netanyahu tells Lieberman that two weeks ago the Defense Ministry rejected the request to renovate the family home due to legal issues regarding the status of the home. Mr. Netanyahu cites the embarrassing situation in which a citizen who becomes disabled serving his country must seek private funding to accommodate his disabilities. Mr. Netanyahu explains Israel is duty-bound to assist the soldier at this time.

The Prime Minister calls on his newly-appointed Defense Minister to do what he can in light of “the special circumstances in the case”.

There are media reports that PM Netanyahu is trying to allocate NIS 1.5 million to the HaYisraeli family in addition to the money raised privately to assist the family but his hands are tied from a legal perspective so he is now turning to Lieberman to find a way to assist.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)