The NGO Ken Lazaken, which aims at defending the rights of seniors in Israel,
published on Sunday a comparative overview of the major parties running for the
19th Knesset and their positions on issues relevant to the elderly.
The
study assessed the parties’ positions on pension allowances, nursing care, Shoah
survivors employment and more, based on the discourse of their
campaigns.
Ken Lazaken’s data suggests that Meretz is the party most
favorable to the rights of senior citizens in Israel, followed by Yesh Atid and
Labor.
The organization had also surveyed Likud Beytenu, Bayit Yehudi,
The Tzipi Livni Party, Kadima and Shas.
On the issue of pension
allowances, which currently amount to NIS 1,480, most of the parties, offered
partial solutions to increase the sum.
Shas, for example, aims at
bringing it up to a third of the national average wage, while Labor talked about
making it 20 percent of the national average wage.
Meretz however stated
that in the absence of additional income, individual pension allowances should
be at the minimum wage.
To this day, long-term nursing care is not an
insured service in Israel and is regulated by seven different authorities. While
The Tzipi Livni P arty talked about a nursing care reform, Yesh Atid proposes a
shift of the responsibility of nursing care exclusively to health maintenance
organizations. The party supports the idea of longterm hospital care, the
establishment of daycare centers and the need to encourage families caring for
their senior members.
Meretz has also revealed its stances for
large-scale daycare nursing centers and minimizing the financial participation
of families in caring for the elderly.
On this issue, Ken Lazaken noted
positive policies for most parties, but Bayit Yehudi’s stance was only partially
positive, according to the data.
As far as Holocaust survivors are
concerned, Yesh Atid promises that it will ensure that they remain on top of the
priorities list in order to provide them with proper care and a dignified life.
The party also proposes to assign people doing national service to help
survivors with daily issues such as domestic tasks, nursing care and
loneliness.
Meretz takes the issue further and talks about the enactment
of a law guaranteeing the rights of survivors.
All parties surveyed
brought the issue up in their campaign except for Shas, which made no reference
to it, according to Ken Lazaken.
Shas also failed to mention one of NGO’s
main areas of concern: the possibility of employment past the formal retirement
age.
The organization found that only Meretz, Labor, Bayit Yehudi and
Kadima were entirely in favor of supporting a law guaranteeing the right to work
and volunteer at any age depending on the senior’s skills and health
condition.
Likud Beytenu, The Tzipi Livni Party and Yesh Atid only
partially agree with such an initiative.
Ken Lazaken called for seniors
and pensioners to go to the polls on Tuesday and exercise their democratic right
to vote.