The economy has indeed begun to recover, and many Israelis who were forced into exile following the war have already been returned to their workplaces - but not all of them. According to estimates, thousands of senior citizens who were forced into exile or fired following the war remain without a livelihood even today.
These are people who have not been able to accumulate a pension that is enough to live on, so many of them are forced to work even after retirement age.
They are not entitled to unemployment benefits, and the old age pension they receive is only NIS 2,604.
As happened during the corona virus, even during the war the employers are not in a hurry to return them to work, because there are younger workers, and finding a job at the age of 70 is not an easy task.
In the months of October to December, senior citizens who were fired or sent to the military due to the war were entitled to receive a special grant of up to 4,000 shekels per month, but the validity of the grants ended along with the outline of the military at the end of December, and many senior citizens were left without a response.
Israel (68), told us that before the war he worked for a transportation company at an airport.
"I worked there for almost 13 years. In the middle of November, we were taken out to the military due to the war.
I received half a grant for the month of November, and for the month of December I have not received it yet.
In my work, the tourists do not come to Israel.
We are the first to leave for the military and the last to return. I don't know when I will return to work."
The National Insurance Building, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Israel's pension does not allow him to live with dignity.
According to him, "I have a pension of NIS 300-400, and I survive on an old-age pension. In the past I earned NIS 14-13 thousand at work. My financial situation is on the face, because I have no additional income except for an old-age pension. The grant is very critical, because I have no income Otherwise. I take money from my son, I take money from my children, I haven't been in such a situation for many years. Even in Corona I lived well, so I received unemployment benefits, I was in Chalat.
Today - nothing."
"No aid from the state"
70-year-old Ami also said in a conversation with "Israel Hayom" that he worked before the war in the field of aviation, and as with Israel, the pension he was able to accumulate does not allow him to live on it.
Ami was taken out of prison and it is still not clear when he will return to his workplace, if at all. In the meantime he tried to find a job, but without much success.
"I think there is an age phenomenon here. They see my contract with all the experience I have, and they don't even invite me to job interviews.
I don't look 70, but that doesn't help.
Employers don't want older people, there is a problem here, and the allowance is very low.
I don't understand why people over the age of 67 are not entitled to unemployment benefits, life expectancy has greatly increased.
If I'm fired, give me unemployment benefits.
All my life I have paid into the National Insurance."
The 121 association, which along with about 50 organizations led the initiative for monthly grants for senior citizens who were fired or sent to the military following the war, demand that they be extended for January and February.
Attorney Tali Nir, executive director of the 121 association: "Thousands of adults who went out of work or were laid off as a result of the war immediately deteriorate into poverty.
The war caused them to lose their jobs, and as of this month they do not have any assistance from the state.
The government must continue the monthly grants given to them from October to December for January and February as well.
The Unemployment Office in Jerusalem // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon // The Unemployment Office in Jerusalem, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"These grants are subject to various conditions and their amount is up to 4,000 shekels per month, and it is still an amount that saves many. We must make it available to those who have not returned to work. Let us recall that 51% of senior citizens do not have a pension, and many of them go out to work to make ends meet. We must not neglect those who He has not yet been returned to work, and now he has to choose between medicine and food."
pass new legislation
About a week ago, the 121 association appealed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich with an urgent request to formulate and pass new legislation, which will guarantee the protection of the livelihood of the most vulnerable unemployed (senior citizens, people with disabilities, and evacuees from the south and the north) also in the months of January-February, alongside measures to encourage the return of workers Sick leave, to prevent the formation of chronic and long-term unemployment.
The 121 association estimates that the budgetary cost of this move is not high, and constitutes only a minimal proportion of the aid expenses for the victims of the war.
According to the National Insurance data, as of the end of December, less than 5,000 applications for the grant had been submitted.
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