Gaza operation: Business owners in the south are tired of financing terrorism - voila! money

2023-05-10T12:17:47.386Z

Highlights: Business owners near Gaza Strip are tired of financing the terror that trickles down to them from the Gaza Strip. Time after time, they are forced to absorb the economic losses due to the frequent rounds of fighting. They wait for many months, sometimes years, until the State of Israel transfers to them the compensation they are entitled to by law. A business protest is being organized to put an end to the procrastination, bureaucracy, forms and hassles, and the role that was imposed on them against their will.

Their businesses are closed. Last time they got together and got compensation, but then they discovered that the State of Israel, which is great at taking money from them, turns out to be very slow when it has to pay it

Cafe in Sderot: The place is also closed, the fresh stock is also spoiling, you also have to pay wages to the employees. The state may compensate, but by the time they see the money, precious time will have passed, literally (Photo: Yanir Yagna)

Business owners near the Gaza Strip are tired of financing the terror that trickles down to them from the Gaza Strip. Time after time, they are forced to absorb the economic losses due to the frequent rounds of fighting, and wait for many months, sometimes years, until the State of Israel transfers to them the compensation they are entitled to by law.

These days, a business protest is being organized there that wants to put an end to the procrastination, bureaucracy, forms and hassles, and the role that was imposed on them against their will: providing credit to the State of Israel from the money they do not have.

"We fought in the past to have them recognize our damages and give us compensation," says Shimon Elkhart, one of the owners of Greg's Cafe in Sderot, "and now we're shouting that they will pay us the compensation immediately and not years later. The Tax Authority has a system that knows how to collect payments from us without a problem and on the spot, and during the coronavirus we saw that the state is able to transfer funds within days. I and other business owners are not supposed to finance terrorism against the State of Israel."

Iron Dome in Sderot. Who will find Iron Dome for businesses in the south as well? (Photo: Yaniv Kalif, .)

Waiting for compensation from the previous operation

Operation Dawn was the first in which there was a "waiting period" until the missile fire began, and residents were subject to movement restrictions from August 2, 2022 - and for three days, during which the Home Front Command ordered businesses to close their doors before even a single missile was fired. At the end of the operation, it was determined that compensation would be given to them from the day the shelling itself began, and even then, only to a limited number of communities.

Only after heavy pressure was exerted by the residents of the envelope that it was decided to increase the number of communities included in the plan and apply the compensation from the first day of the movement restrictions until August 9, two days after its end.
After negotiations in the Finance Committee, the rate for a day of absence of employees increased from NIS 430 to NIS 460, and it was returned to employers for the absent employees, according to the number of employees and the days. The criteria for compensation for parents who did not come to work during the fighting were also expanded.

Regarding the raw materials that have spoiled, in businesses such as banquet halls, eateries and hotels, which usually work on weekends and suffered damage as a result of the closure on Friday afternoon, it was determined that these businesses will be entitled to additional compensation, even for the raw materials that spoiled, with the amount of compensation being 20% of the compensation given to the business for employee absenteeism, as an addition to compensation for workers' wages... A bit complicated, but better than nothing. It is reasonable to assume that the compensation for the current round of fighting will be derived from the outline agreed upon less than a year ago.

Usually Elkhart goes out of "Greg" to check on the business when the round of fighting is over. This time he took advantage of the wait to jump in there. "Usually at night I prepare all the products for the kitchen and put them on the line so we can start working in the morning. I threw away huge amounts of milk, fish, cheese and vegetables. The damage is great.

"The Tax Authority has a formula for calculating compensation, but when we have to wait for it for so long, our hole deepens. Because we know how to turn tables, we managed to get the compensation two weeks ago, but most of the restaurants in the area haven't received anything yet. The bureaucratic process is killing us. I have global payroll employees who are due to receive their salary at the end of the month and I have to claim the money for them and the money for the business. The computer systems are sufficiently sophisticated. There is no reason why this procedure should take more than two or three weeks."