The IDF Disabled Veterans Organization published a detailed letter in response to a background document distributed by the Finance Ministry spokesperson to reporters, in which it responds to the ministry's claims regarding the budgeting of the Rehabilitation Department and the implementation of the Mor-Yosef Committee recommendations. The organization reveals that during the committee's discussions, Finance Ministry representatives attempted to promote a series of measures and cuts to the rights of the wounded, which were blocked by committee members, the Defense Ministry, and the organization. The letter presents the organization's position and includes updated data on the scope of the wounded since the outbreak of the "Swords of Iron" war.
According to the organization's data, since the beginning of the war, approximately 26,200 new wounded men and women have been added to the rehabilitation system, suffering from multi–system injuries, amputations, burns, blast injuries, and post–traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The organization notes that according to Defense Ministry forecasts, by the end of next year, the total number of wounded in the rehabilitation system is expected to reach approximately 100,000 people – almost double the number on the eve of the war. The organization emphasizes that the realization of the recommendations is especially vital in the current time window, as intensive treatment in the first years determines the wounded person's chances of returning to functioning and the workforce.
Regarding the chronology of events, the organization notes that the Mor–Yosef Committee was established by a government decision and in full coordination with the Finance Ministry, and its representatives signed its conclusions. On the day of the report's publication, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich even published an official statement which read: "We have a deep moral and national debt to those who gave everything for the security of Israel and were injured in body or soul. The committee's work expresses a revolution in the way the state wraps around IDF wounded and their family members. A revolution in service, a revolution in efficiency, a revolution in the basket of services, and a revolution in the complete and rehabilitative response for the wounded person and his family members. I am proud of the privilege to be signed on this historic revolution and thank my friend the Defense Minister and the members of the Mor–Yosef Committee for the joint holy work in recent months for the security of Israel and its future and for the IDF combat soldiers and its wounded."
Despite the agreements, the organization claims that when the budgeting stage arrived, the Finance Ministry began to backtrack on its commitments and delay the transfer of resources. In response to the Finance Ministry's claim that budget additions to the defense system make a separate budget for rehabilitation redundant, the organization clarifies that the defense budget is intended for force building and managing the war, while the rehabilitation of the wounded requires a dedicated and supplementary budgetary track, as was also recommended in the committee's letter of appointment.
Furthermore, the organization rejects the Finance Ministry's claims regarding "blind" entitlements, explaining that entitlement to a vehicle is also given on the background of mental injuries, burns, and complex orthopedic injuries, as a rehabilitative tool to prevent isolation. The organization defined the Finance Ministry's use of a quote taken out of context from committee member Prof. Zaltsman as manipulation, and clarified that the majority of the committee members, including the professionals, supported this entitlement. The organization also rejected the Finance Ministry's criticism of the change in the staffing standards formula in the Rehabilitation Department, explaining that the formula was methodologically updated to provide a response to the updated forecast of the wounded and due to the addition of new accompaniment functions, such as a personal point of contact (POC), which were also approved by Finance Ministry representatives on the committee. In addition, the Finance Ministry's claim that the committee's recommendations to shorten waiting times through medical committees based on documents alone constitute a "superficial approach" was rejected, noting that this is a practice accepted also in the National Insurance Institute.
The document details the demands raised by the professional teams of the Finance Ministry during the committee's discussions, which were ultimately blocked:
Transfer of medical care to health funds: A demand for a sweeping transfer of medical care to the health funds, a move that the organization opposed, claiming that the health funds are not prepared to treat unique combat injuries and operational PTSD. The organization even raised a question as to whether the Finance Ministry attempted to ease the deficits of the health funds by using the wounded.
Changing the mechanism of disability percentages and entitlements: A demand to cancel the existing disability percentage mechanism and move to only 8 fixed disability levels regardless of the type of injury. Alongside this, the Finance Ministry sought to apply a reduced model from 1996 to wounded persons with disability levels of 20%–34%. The organization notes that since 80% of post–trauma wounded are defined below 34% disability, the meaning of the step is the cancellation of their recognition as IDF disabled veterans.
Harm to monthly benefits: A proposal to convert the monthly benefit of disabled veterans with levels of 35%–49% into a quarterly or annual grant, a step that would have harmed the economic stability of many families.
Changes in medical committee procedures: A demand to cancel the right of a wounded person to withdraw an appeal, so that a committee discussing an aggravation of condition could reduce the disability percentages without prior notice and without giving the right to defend. Likewise, the Finance Ministry requested that with every application regarding an aggravation of condition, the entire medical file of the disabled veteran would be examined, a move that would have created a chilling effect and deterred wounded persons from applying to committees.
Reduction of entitlement to a medical vehicle: A demand to limit vehicle entitlement only to those with limb or spinal injuries who suffer from mobility problems, thereby denying a rehabilitative vehicle from mental health and burn victims. In addition, it was proposed to extend the frequency of vehicle replacement to 5 years and allow the purchase of a used vehicle.
Establishment of additional implementation teams: A demand for the establishment of joint teams for the Defense and Finance ministries for future examination of the recommendations within 30 days, a step that according to the organization was intended for eternal rolling over and delaying immediate implementation.
Adv. Edan Kleiman, chairman of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization, concluded the letter with a call to the finance minister to stand behind his signature and his public statements, and to approve without further delay the budgets required for full implementation of the Mor–Yosef Committee recommendations.
Senior officials in the Finance Ministry say in response to the claims: "The things said alongside the official data prove that there are indeed significant managerial and structural failures in the allocation of entitlements, and as a result, the wounded IDF combat soldiers do not receive a sufficient envelope. The Finance Ministry indeed welcomes many recommendations of the Mor–Yosef Committee and even pushes for their immediate advancement and budgeting, but refuses to accept the perpetuation of long–standing problems that lead to the deprivation of the rights of combat soldiers and an inferior response for their rehabilitation, despite the state's heavy investment of billions of shekels."