Israeli disabled citizens call on Knesset to raise disability stipend, 2015-2018

In January 2015, Alex Friedman, who suffered from muscular dystrophy, uploaded a picture of himself in his wheelchair with the caption “disabled, not half a person” to his Facebook account. The post called for Israel’s government to raise the monthly disability stipend for citizens from its value at the time which was 2,342 NIS ($660), which was roughly half of the monthly minimum wage in Israel at the time. The post went viral, eliciting other disabled people in Israel to post pictures of themselves in support of Friedman’s call for raising the disability stipend to an amount off of which they could actually live. The post caught the attention of national media outlets and led reporters to question politicians on the matter. Several politicians, including government ministers Yair Lapid and Moshe Kahlon, responded that they would “look into it.”

That same month, a group of disabled rights activists created a Facebook group that called for raising the value of the monthly disability stipend to that of the monthly minimum wage. The group’s first direct action took place on the first day of the 21st Knesset’s spring session on 31 March 2015. Activists (both disabled and not disabled) stood outside the entrance of the Knesset and gave out flowers and positions papers calling on MKs (Members of Knesset) to pass legislation that would raise the disability stipend. In July 2015, disabled activists and their supporters began repeatedly blocking major highways in Tel Aviv in protest. 

On 29 March 2016, activists held a protest outside the entrance to the ministry of finance building in Jerusalem. They held up posters calling for raising the disability stipend. Multiple MKs took part in the protests and gave speeches in support of passing legislation to raise the disability stipend. In April 2016, a number of activists led by Alex Friedman officially established the NGO ‘Disabled, Not Half a Person’ that attracted an online following and posted information about planning sessions and future protests. The same month, organizers of the campaign also started calling on supporters to wear a red rubber bracelet on their left hand as a show of support. Throughout 2016, ‘Disabled, Not Half a Person’ along with other activist groups, organized a number of protests in front of government offices in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that included blocking main highways and junctions in the cities. The protests also included chants, speeches, and holding up signs that read “Can you live off of 2,342 NIS a month? Neither can we!”. As the actions continued, the Israeli police forcibly removed the disabled people from blocking the roads and handed out fines to protestors.

The campaign began to grow considerably in the summer of 2017 as more and more disabled activists took part in the road closures and protests. The campaign also garnered far more media attention and began to be addressed by politicians through the proposal of bills that included raising the disability stipend to track with the value of the minimum wage. In March 2017, a number of activists set up an encampment in front of the treasury office, and 150 disabled activists began a hunger strike after the cabinet failed to raise their stipend for the third time that session. On 18 May 2017, 200 disabled activists blocked one of Israel’s most important highways saying they would stop when the Israeli government found “a proper and dignified solution” for them. The protests, mainly in the form of blockades on roads to create road closures, continued through the Summer of 2017. On 17 June 2017, during a protest, two disabled protestors attempted to self-immolate but police stopped them before they could do it. 

On 29 September 2017, representatives from the finance ministry and the disabled rights advocates reached a deal that raised the disability payments to 4500 NIS ($1270); the deal was seen as a  compromise for both sides. The negotiations leading up to the deal had been taking place for weeks after members of the campaign received a reply to their many requests to discuss the matter of raising the stipend with the finance ministry. The stipend remained lower than the minimum wage and would not be guaranteed to all those with disabilities, but only to those with a high level disability and no family to take care of them. Moreover, this increase would happen gradually over the course of four years. The deal was reached with the help of Avi Nisenkoren, the head of the Histadrut (Israel's workers’ union). It seems Nisenkoren got involved with the negotiations since many of those protesting had previously been members of the Histadrut. Although the stipend was not equal to the minimum wage, it was linked to it and would rise if the minimum wage were to rise. Despite the partial victory that the deal signified, many in the campaign did not accept the deal on the grounds that it was not enough. Those who opposed the deal mainly opposed it since it did not guarantee the gradual increase would take place under future government budgets but only guaranteed the first increase in the current budget. 

The protests continued, and became even more aggressive. On 23 October 2017, representatives from 15 different disabled citizens advocacy groups set up an encampment outside the Knesset and stated they intended to remain there until the Knesset met their demand of raising the disability stipend to match the minimum wage. The organizers called on the prime minister to get involved in the negotiations with the finance minister, and threatened to shut down Ben Gurion Airport if their demands were not met. In the months of October and November of 2017, the activists ramped up their disruptions of commerce and transportation. 

On 3 October, the protestors blocked the entrance to the port of Ashdod; on 15 October, they blocked traffic on major highways outside the city of Netanya; on October 17, they protested outside the gates of the prime minister’s residence, shook the gates requesting to be let in to talk with him, and blocked the road leading to the residence; on 5 November, they blocked the entrance to Israel’s oil refineries; on 22 November, they blocked the national railway service from running.

An amended bill was passed on 31 January 2018 including an increase in the sum from that which  representatives from the finance ministry and the disabled rights advocates agreed upon in September 2017. This sum still did not amount to minimum wage stipends, even for those with a high level of disability. Many within the campaign remained dissatisfied with the amended law, but regardless, the protests died down after the Knesset passed the law with this increased sum.