A bill proposed by MK Dalia Itzik (Kadima) to keep the retirement age for women
at 62 was approved in its preliminary reading on Wednesday after, in a rare
move, coalition chair MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) removed coalition discipline from a
vote with serious budgetary ramifications that had been proposed by the
opposition.
Elkin announced the move after Culture and Sport Minister
Limor Livnat (Likud), Knesset Committee on the Status of Women chairwoman MK
Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), and MKs from every faction in the coalition said they
would support the bill, even if it is counter to the government’s original
stance on the issue, and is opposed by Finance Minister Yuval
Steinitz.
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Editorial: A fairer retirement for the fairer sex After the bill was approved, with 67 in favor and only Steinitz
opposed, Itzik said, “this is a happy day for Israel’s women, despite the
Finance Ministry’s intentions.”
Similar bills proposed by MK Zahava
Gal-On (Meretz) and MK Afo Agbaria (Hadash) also passed their preliminary
reading.
In addition, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke out in
support of Itzik’s bill on Wednesday morning.
“From the first moment
women’s retirement age was on the agenda, Israel Beiteinu had a very clear
stance on it, and we will not backtrack,” Lieberman said. “We will oppose any
change.”
“I told the heads of the coalition this morning that we will
support Dalia Itzik’s bill,” he said.
“Israel Beiteinu is also active in
social issues, which are some of the most important decisions made in the
Knesset,” the foreign minister pointed out, as MK Orly Levy-Abecasis (Israel
Beiteinu), one of the outspoken advocates on the issue, grinned and nodded next
to him.
Kadima saw the lack of coalition discipline as a
victory.
“The coalition waved a white flag before the battle began,” a
party spokesman said. “Male and female MKs announced that they would rebel, and
[Elkin] was afraid of losing.”
Last month, the Finance Ministry
recommended that the retirement age for women be raised from 62 to 67, which led
to an uproar among female and male MKs alike.
At Tuesday’s “emergency
conference” on the topic, organized by MK Faina Kirschenbaum (Israel Beiteinu)
and MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz), female MKs and ministers warned of the difficulty
women have finding and keeping jobs as they grow older.
“Only half of
women over age 50 work full-time, as opposed to 88 percent of men,” Livnat
explained.