Israel is a country that makes it difficult for its elderly to grow old with dignity.
Too many senior citizens in their old age face the rising cost of living by the day, and the difficulty of purchasing basic food or medicine.
Many more live below the poverty line without a pension and rely on meager allowances, grants and eateries to barely survive.
It is estimated that about 30% of Israeli seniors are defined as "individuals."
And if those are not enough, a study by the University of Haifa, conducted at the request of Minister Meirav Cohen, found that about half of the cases of financial exploitation were committed by the families of the adults.
Even the elderly are not protected within their family.
It is known that "money blinds the eyes of the wise" and it turns out that family members are not immune either.
In recent years, and especially since the entry into force in 2018 of the "Nursing Reform" that allowed seniors eligible for the Nursing Act to waive the care hours they deserve and receive money instead, it seems that elements in the public system are trying to get as many seniors to choose money.
After all, from the officials' point of view, it is better this way: as soon as an elderly person takes money instead of treatment hours, the state removes the responsibility and passes it into his hands.
And what actually happens?
Those seniors, who choose money instead of care, are forced, upon receipt of the money, to purchase for themselves the care hours they need instead of actually receiving them from the National Insurance Institute.
From that moment on, the elderly and their families become self-employed and are required to look for a suitable Israeli caregiver, pay him full salary and social rights, obtain a replacement during vacation or illness, and the like - an occupation that becomes a very heavy burden.
As a result, giving money instead of real care causes many seniors to give up the care hours they so desperately need.
Worse: According to the results of the new study, and also according to studies done in the past as well as according to cases we see in the field, in many seniors the money "flows" to children or family members, and is not used for treatment purposes.
In other cases, the elderly, many of whom are cramped, treat money as "extra income."
It does not for a moment detract from their being nursing but only aggravates their condition, and the burden falls on the welfare departments of the local authorities.
Facts need to be acknowledged: Money can not replace humans.
According to the CBS, at the end of 2020, the population of senior citizens in Israel numbered about 1.128 million people. Science and the increase in life expectancy, the number of senior citizens in Israel, as well as the number of those entitled to nursing care in need of care, are constantly increasing. Which, of course, has no price. The physical and mental assistance provided by the caregivers to the nursing elderly also prevents hospitalizations and reduces the burden on the health system in Israel.
Dear decision makers, do not abandon the senior citizens.
It is time to do more to improve the situation and enable the elderly in Israel, who have given the country so much, to live with dignity and well-being.
Raising the old-age pension, directing "surplus taxes" for the benefit of the elderly, appropriate employment guidance from the state in order to increase the number of nursing caregivers in Israel, and also giving priority to "services benefit" (physical care) over "benefit in money" These are just some of the various activities available to improve the situation of the elderly in Israel, and there are of course many other ways.
In an aging world, when life expectancy rises but quality of life declines, it is an immediate national interest.
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