Last week the Finances Committee of the Knesset discussed changes in the Wisconsin Program (Israeli “Back-to-Work”) designed to make things easier for those caught up in the program and to exclude certain groups. These changes were called by Labor and Industry Minister “major changes”, but we see them as only minor ones.

MK Litzman, the committee chairman, allocated the debate only half an hour. After all, everybody favoured the changes, so no one would want to discuss them. A relaitively large number of MK’s arrived for the debate, s– the committee chairman, Haim Oron, Rubi Rivlin, Marina Solodkin, and several more who entered and left. In addition there were representatives of the Ministry of Finances, Wisconsin Program administration, Institute foe Social Security and representatives of the NGOs involved. RHR’s Rabbi Idit was the representative of our coalition.

The discussion evolved into an principled debaten the various topics of the Program, and again MKs raised the question left un-answered last year – who are the Wisconsin Program participants? The MKs stated that the “entrance gate” to the program is too wide and there are too many participants who are not compatible with it. A concern was expressed, that the alleviations proposed by the WP administration will bring to it that new participants will enter the program instead of those who will leave it, all that before analyzing the now-participating population.
After over one hour of deliberations, the changes were approved. MK Litzman suggested that after Tisha B’Av the committee will organize a tour at the Jerusalem centre of the Wisconsin Program and following that a substantial debate about the issue will be held in the committee. Representatives of the involved NGOs are invited d the meeting of the committee. Regretfully, despite the strong statements at this meeting, one week later there is no date for the tour and the next meeting.

The approved changes:

a. A special exemption from the program to new immigrants who lived in Absorption Centers and have purchased apartments in areas with improved mortgages, but are far from the program’s centres. Until today they had to continue to participate at the nearest centre, even if this meant a few hours drive a day. This alleviation is mainly for new immigrants from Ethiopia, who are entitled to these improved mortgages.

b. A participant who has moved to an address remote from the Wisconsin centre more than 60 km has to continue his participation in the program. Until today he/she was referred to the nearest Wisconsin centre to the new address. From now he/she can choose to which of the nearest centers to go.

c. Single parents will be entitled to 3 additional sickness-leave days for their children every 6 months. Regretfully, we have one participant who would not have lost her June stipend if this decision was taken earlier.

d. Participants who have partially lost their working ability will have a personal program proportional with the percentage of their disability. For example, a participant with 40% loss of working ability will be required to a personal program of 18-24 hours per week instead of 30-40 hours per week.

e. Participants less than 5 years before retirement will have a personal program of only one hour per week.

f. Participants less than 5 years before retirement, who have received social security stipends through 5 out of the 7 last years (at least 3 consecutive years) and had no additional income during this period; and the program’s occupational physician has decided they can’t work more than 5 weekly hours – will have a personal program of only one hour per week.

g. A committee for exceptional cases will be created, to permit restricted hours of the personal program, even les than 15 hours per week.

The list of changes is long, and is the result of the work of a committee headed by Raanan Dinur, appointed by Ehud Olmert when he was still Minister of Labour and Industry. Regretfully, only a small percentage of the participants will be able to benefit from them. Most of the participants, who shouldn’t even be part of the program at all, will continue to participate.
We welcome all changes, but there is still much work to be done.

Next month the recommendations of the Tamir committee are supposed to be published, a committee also summoned to suggest changes in the program.

Recent Articles by Rabbi Idit Lev

• Rabbis for Human Rights protests against the expansion of the Wisconsin plan - September 26th, 2008
• Rabbis for Human Rights calls on Government not to expand the Wisconsin Plan - September 19th, 2008
• RHR protests against procedural irregularities of Wisconsin Plan - August 28th, 2008
• Volunteers Needed for Wisconsin Plan - August 28th, 2008
• RHR supports Empowerment Group for Women - August 21st, 2008
• RHR fights budget cuts that increases social inequalities - August 14th, 2008
• RHR promotes user friendly forms for Wisconsin Plan participants - August 14th, 2008
• RHR and the iniquities of the welfare to work program - July 18th, 2008
• From Welfare to Nowhere: Promoting Human Dignity for victims of the Wisconsin Plan - July 3rd, 2008
• Demonstration against the Economic Arrangements Law - December 13th, 2007
• Victory in the Regional Labor Court - November 4th, 2006
• Conference of local mayors opposed to the Wisconsin Plan - November 4th, 2006
• Ensure Economic Justice: Help the victims of the Wisconsin Plan - September 29th, 2006
• Re'e: Human Rights and ignorance and abandonment by the government - August 17th, 2006
• The Wisconsin Program: What really happens - August 11th, 2006
• Rabbis for Human Rights activists succeed in influencing changes to the Israeli Wisconsin Program - August 4th, 2006
• Rabbis for Human Rights seeks to secure Social security allowances for all Wisconsin Program Participants - July 21st, 2006
• Rabbis For Human Rights protects the rights of the unemployed - July 13th, 2006
• RHR succeeds in modifying the the Omnibus Law of Arrangements (Economic Arrangements Bill) - June 29th, 2006
• RHR demonstrates for Social Justice - June 23rd, 2006
• Rabbis For Human Rights Opposes the Omnibus Law of Arrangements (Economic Arrangements Bill) - May 22nd, 2006
• Omnibus Law of Arrangements: Background Information - May 22nd, 2006
• Rabbi Idit Lev - May 22nd, 2006
• Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson's Speech to the Knesset Plenum – State Budget and Arrangements Law for 2006 - May 8th, 2006
• Vaethannan: Acceptance of the land, and forgetting God - August 19th, 2005

Categories: Economic Justice
Tags: Bo, human rights, palestinians, rest, settlers