Welfare Minister (Likud) Chaim Katz on Sunday morning 17 Menachem Av spoke with Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), addressing the growing number of elderly Israelis who lack sufficient income for food and their medicine regimen. Katz stated that at present, there are 235,000 people receiving monthly government payments and an individual receives NIS 3,150 a month and a couple, NIS 5,000.
He admits he would like to see each individual receive NIS 5,000 towards permitting them to live as they should but approving such a move would require an additional NIS 1 billion annually, and the money simply is not there.
Katz states nevertheless he is doing his utmost and he managed to get an addition NIS 1.3 billion in the new budget will result in an additional NIS 300 a month per person, admittedly not enough for one to exist.
Katz explains that he is painfully aware that today, there are 400,000 elderly Israelis living under the poverty level and 1.7 million poor in Israel. “We are doing what we can including senior citizen clubs, hot meals at minimal fee, visitors to prevent the loneliness and more but it is not enough” Katz added.
“I have asked for NIS 1 billion” to assist the elderly in Israel but it is not happening. The entire budget for my minister is NIS 500 million and this is far from sufficient to assist the growing number of elderly and those in need.
We are happy that people are living longer but to my sorrow, there are 400,000 elderly poor and the nation must undertake a national project and the year 2017 must be dedicated to assisting the elderly who simply do not have the means to exist on a minimal level and maintain an honorable lifestyle.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
What about the reparation money they get from Germany? They act like they are the beneficiaries of these elderly, pilfer the holocaust survivors reparation, then throw them to the wolves. That’s why you don’t have any money!
If the government were to take decisive action to cut all the handouts to politically favored mosdos where there is little or no accountability for the funds allocated, there might be more funds for critically necessary subsidies such as those for the elderly. Coalition commitments alone consume 15-20 percent of the budget.
Really really want to help… RIGHT!!
1)Maybe cut some of those “important” deputy ministers.
2)A president that’s doesn’t do much and costs TONS of money.
3)The ministers can get a little less than the most expensive cars.
4)Bibi can order a little less ice cream
We wants to help but not if it’ll cost him and it’s friends all the luxuries
#2 Do you know that mosdos are allocated perhaps 1/10 of the funding that universities and professors get for teaching Bulgarian history, Chinese culture and liberal arts and other shtussim. But it irks you that yeshivos should get even a dime.
No. 4
Your numbers are so far off-base, its not worth responding. Look at the Bank of Israel studies and data bases of government transfer payments in the Israeli Economy going back to 2007-08. Funding for public education should be examined and wasteful funding eliminated, to the extent they are confirmed. However, the real flaw in your argument is the implied generalization that “liberal arts” studies are “shtussim”. As a start, Chinese cultural studies taught at the Technion are considered critical for engineering students who want to join tech startups doing business in the PRC. Sales of high technology products to China added over $200 million (US) to the Israeli economy last year.
so much for the “start up” nation, this is in addition to soldiers not getting toilet paper.