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Winter Of Discontent
Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, above, at the weekly cabinet meeting, told Haaretz that the government “has to intervene” to bring economic relief to struggling Israelis.Getty Images by Michele Chabin Here, men with faces deeply lined by the sun hawk $10 shirts, $3 lipsticks and $6 shower curtains. One shouts, “Ladies, children’s clothes, five shekels each,” at the top of his lungs while others try to convince customers to buy jeans or floor rugs. Many of this week’s customers, mainly young mothers and people over 50 — both Jewish and Arab — congregated at the stalls selling warm children’s pajamas, sweaters, flannel sheets and fleece blankets. Despite the spring-like days, Jerusalem nights are getting colder as winter is fast 
With the exorbitant cost of heating oil and electricity, winter is traditionally the most difficult time for the poor, especially if, like many elderly, they are living on fixed incomes. While Israelis, like people the world over, have begun tightening their household belts due to the global economic slowdown, many of Israel’s pensioners are already living as frugally as humanly possible, their advocates say. The recent decline in their savings and pension funds (if they are lucky enough to have these things), could spell disaster for even some middle-class elderly this winter, they say. Figures released this week by Minister of Welfare Isaac Hertzog suggest that pensioners are the most vulnerable segment of the population, even more so than poor families. The number of poor elderly is increasing, the report said, despite an overall reduction of poverty nationwide. Currently, 22.6 percent of the country’s elderly live at or below the poverty line, compared to 21.5 percent in February 2007. The percentage of poverty-stricken children dropped from 35.8 percent to 34.2 percent during the same period. Overall, the number of Israeli citizens living below the poverty line actually declined slightly, from 1.67 million 1.63 million, a fact Herzog attributed to an influx of workers into the labor force. Naomi Sharabi, director of Ezra Avot, an organization that provides 1,200 meals on wheels every week as well as 80 daily meals at its senior center and 120 Shabbat care packages, says that demand for help — especially from pensioners who have been financially self-sufficient until now — has been growing steadily since the start of the year. “I don’t know why people say the crisis began three months ago,” Sharabi, a feisty, deeply committed woman, says of the many phone calls she began to receive last winter. “We’re talking about people who worked their whole lives and until recently could make ends meet.” These include several older former residents of Gush Katif,” the dismantled Gaza settlement bloc, Sharabi said. Sharabi finds it particularly heart-breaking when people who once donated to Ezrat Avot find themselves on the receiving end. “These people are very proud. They used to live reasonably well on [NIS 5000- NIS 7000] a month [$1,269-$1,777]. They don’t want to be needy. Some ask if there is a way for them to volunteer and for us to put aside some food for them at the end, so that they can eat it.” Some gainfully employed seniors, like Raphael El Karif, a vendor at the Shuk Ramle, say the economic meltdown, coupled with a 25 percent price food hike, is making it impossible for them to retire. “If I miss a day here, I won’t have enough money to get through the month,” El Karif, a grizzled veteran of the market circuit, said, glancing at his stall filled with costume jewelry few were buying. “By all rights I should be receiving Bituach Leumi [Social Security], but the government raised the retirement age to 67. “I’ll turn 66 around Purim. What am I supposed to do until 67? I never contributed to a pension.” Not that having a pension is any guarantee these days. “I hear everyone’s pension is way down,” Eli Cohen, a 53-year-old moving company employee with a long-standing pension plan, said while hanging out with a friend at the shuk. “We’re all worried, especially my parents, whose pension was reduced by 2 percent due to the situation. They’re on a fixed income so it’s tough.” Depending on how much Cohen’s parents earned during their working lives, they might be eligible for the “safety net” plan proposed this week by the Ministry of Finance that would guarantee pension savings – but only for people over 60 earning less than NIS 7,000. “Citizens who worked all their lives, especially those already retired and are today losing their savings and retirement funds as a result of the economic tsunami, is something we simply can’t allow, and the state has to intervene,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, as quoted by the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. If approved by the Treasury, the guarantee is expected to assist less than 100,000 seniors and will not be retroactive. It will do nothing to ensure the retirement savings of millions of younger or more affluent Israelis, which have declined an average of 10 percent since the start of the year, according to officials. The Israeli capital markets have declined 16 percent — a relatively small amount compared to markets in the U.S., which are down some 40 percent — prompting some analysts to voice optimism about Israel’s relatively strong economy. That’s not much consolation, though, for the many citizens who have watched their pensions wither by 10, 20, or 30 percent, depending on how the money is invested. “I’m not retiring right now, but if I were, I’d be real trouble,” said Moshe Silberschein, a 54-year-old Jerusalem educator. “Like everyone else, I’m hoping the economy will be in better shape by the time I retire.” |
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