Defense Minister Ehud Barak responded to repeated pleas by the head of the IDF widows organization by instructing his faction on Wednesday to support a proposal that IDF widows continue to receive a pension even after they remarry. Until now, IDF widows, once remarried, would stop receiving financial assistance from the Defense Ministry. As a result, many widows in long-term relationships refrained from getting married a second time. With Barak's official backing of the proposal, the Knesset plenum is expected to approve the pension extension in the next few days.