Disabled protesters block Knesset, Jerusalem streets, demanding benefits boost

Disabled protesters and activists on Monday blocked the entrance plaza to the Knesset and major arteries in Jerusalem as part of a campaign for higher disability stipends and pensions for the elderly. Police said they were attempting to clear the demonstrators because the protest was illegal.

In the first stage of the protest, police said Kaplan Street, Ben Tzvi Street and the Cinema City junction were closed to traffic and advised motorists to find alternative routes. The streets were later opened.

Later, protesters blocked Jaffa Street and Sarei Yisrael Boulevard in the center of the city. This demonstration caused disruption to the city’s light railway.

The protests come several months after the government reached a deal to up the stipends, following months of near-daily demonstrations on highways and intersections that brought traffic to a standstill and led to commuting nightmares throughout the country.

A splinter group that broke ranks with the country’s largest disabled rights organization last year has continued to protest, saying the increase to disability benefits negotiated with the Finance Ministry was not enough.

The protesters are calling for government stipends for the disabled and elderly to be increased to NIS 5,300 ($1,500) so that it matches the minimum wage. The Knesset in February raised the monthly stipend to NIS 3,700 ($1,050).

“Finance Minister [Moshe] Kahlon promised but did not keep his word,” said Yonatan Tadmor, one of the organizers of the protest. “The highest disabled stipend is NIS 3,200 ($880) for someone who is 100 percent disabled. This is very far from the minimum wage. Every year 70 disabled people commit suicide because they do not want to be a burden on their families and have no ability to provide for themselves.”

“The State of Israel … continues to leave the disabled of Israel in poverty and abandoned,” said Ayal Cohen, leader of the protest group.