Disabled protesters block main highway in wildcat protest
Demonstrators say new plan to increase disability stipends falls short of their demands for minimum wage equivalent
Disabled demonstrators clashed with police and blocked a major interchange north of Tel Aviv Sunday morning as they continued their campaign for disability benefits to be raised to the same level as the minimum wage.
Traffic flow was temporarily halted by wheel-chair bound protesters at the Batzra Interchange on Route 4 in what Hebrew media reports characterized as a “surprise” demonstration, since it was not coordinated with police. Lanes reopened less than an hour after being blocked.
The closure hit one of the country’s busiest highways during one of the heaviest commuting hours of the week, when roads are normally already jam-packed with people going to work and soldiers returning to base.
Traffic jams continued to be reported long after the protesters were removed from the freeway.
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The protest was the latest in a series of escalating actions disabled citizens have taken to push for an increase in state benefits. Last month, demonstrators tried setting themselves on fire outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, but were stopped by police officers who grabbed the gasoline containers.
In weeks prior, protesters held several demonstrations, blocking Tel Aviv thoroughfares and a main highway to Ben-Gurion airport after media reports that a government committee planned to recommend cutting a promised increase in allotments.
Chairwoman of the Struggle for the Disabled Nonprofit Naomi Moravia told Israel Radio Sunday that demonstrations would escalate if the government does not act on its one demand for minimum-wage level disability benefits.
“Stop treating us like annoying mosquitoes… The fact that medicine prolongs our lives does not mean that you need to shorten them,” she said.
In June, lawmakers from across the political spectrum urged the government to accept the new plan that would raise the monthly stipend from NIS 2,342 ($660) to NIS 4,000 ($1,130).
The new stipend level would be linked to the minimum wage, which is raised periodically through Knesset legislation. The stipend is currently linked to the consumer price index, which rises slower than the minimum wage does.
The proposal is a compromise between the demands of disability activists, including MK Ilan Gilon of Meretz, to set the stipend at the minimum wage, or NIS 5,000 ($1,400) per month, and those of a committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that is expected to recommend a more modest increase to NIS 3,200 ($900), and limit the stipend to those with very severe disabilities and no family.
The current plan is slated to be brought to the Knesset as a bill next month, with lawmakers saying they will demand government backing to ensure the bill passes into law by November, allowing the new stipend levels to begin to go into force from January 1, 2018.
פעם נוספת הפגנת פתע של מחאת הנכים: המפגינים חוסמים את צומת בצרה בכביש 4, עימותים עם המשטרה במקום. pic.twitter.com/B8gLWRSlUG
— ניר שויד (@nirshved) July 9, 2017
Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
