Immigrants who came within past year to get NIS 500 stipend

The government announced Tuesday that people who immigrated to Israel over the past year, and therefore are not yet eligible for certain social benefits, would receive a one-time payment of NIS 500 (approximately $145).

Immigration Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said she approved the payment for thousands of immigrants, adding that she would “continue to work for their health and well-being with all my might.”

In April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced similar one-off stipends for families with children, as well as the elderly and people with disabilities.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, some immigration to Israel has continued, although new arrivals must immediately quarantine for two weeks under the emergency regulations.

New immigrants to Israel receive a number of state benefits aimed at helping their absorption into the country, including modest financial payments and discounts on some taxes.

In 2019, around 34,000 people immigrated to Israel, the largest annual figure in the previous decade.

Tuesday’s announcement was the latest in a series of moves designed to help Israelis cope financially amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Netanyahu and Finance Minister Israel Katz on Sunday said purchase taxes on a series of products, including electronics and clothing, would be permanently canceled, as they extended unemployment benefits for recently laid off Israelis by another month.

The plan, announced in a joint statement, will see duties and taxes for the following products lifted: cellphones, electronics, clothing, shoes, home appliances and lighting, toys, cosmetics, baby products, and glasses.

The cost of the waiver to the state coffers is projected at NIS 1.45 billion, with taxes on most of the products hovering around 12 percent to 15%, and rising up to 30% for some entertainment equipment. The move comes after consumer spending took a steep dive as the virus spread in Israel.

In addition, Netanyahu and Katz agreed to extend the eligibility of Israelis placed on unpaid leave to receive state unemployment benefits for another 35 days, to account for the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government for around that amount of time.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis remain unemployed due to the pandemic, most of them put on unpaid leave and collecting state benefits. According to the Employment Service, nearly 300,000 have returned to work since mid-April, when the economy began resuming activity, but over 100,000 others lost their jobs. The service has ceased to publicize the updated unemployment rate since late April, reporting only those who rejoined the workforce. The Ynet news site on Saturday placed the number of currently unemployed at 950,000, down from 1.2 million in April.

According to a government survey in late May, nearly half of Israelis say they are worse off financially since the coronavirus pandemic and more than one in seven are afraid they will lose their home or say they have to cut back on food consumption.