The insistence of Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Liberman on additional benefits for new immigrants, who have not accumulated pension rights in Israel, is proving a sticking point in the negotiations on bringing his party into Israel's governing coalition. Sources inform "Globes" that Liberman also raised other demands during the negotiations, among them greater assistance for new immigrants with rents and mortgages.
The talks on Yisrael Beitenu joining the government continued intensely today, the main point being a deep dispute between Liberman and the Ministry of Finance on additional payment to new immigrants that Liberman wants financed from the state budget. A tripartite meeting that took place on the matter today between Liberman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon failed to break the deadlock.
The Ministry of Finance says that Liberman's demand to raise pensions for new immigrants is impractical; first of all because the state does not make pension payments to new immigrants as a group, and secondly because the minister of finance instructed his officials not to discriminate in the distribution of financial benefits between new immigrants and veteran Israelis, or on the basis of religion, race or sex.
The alternative to Liberman's idea, which Ministry of Finance officials raised with Yisrael Beitenu's representatives in the negotiations, CPA Moshe Leon and former member of Knesset Leon Litinetsky, was to raise monthly income supplement payments for all pensioners from NIS 3,000 to NIS 3,500, at a total cost of NIS 2 billion. As reported by "Globes" yesterday, there are about 240,000 people of retirement age in Israel who receive income supplement payments, of whom about 80,000 are new immigrants, most of them from the former Soviet Union countries, and about 50,000 are non-Jewish Israelis, some of them residents of East Jerusalem.
Furthermore, since at stake is a multi-year addition to the budget, a budget source must be shown to pay for it. In the discussion on drawing up the budget for 2017-2018, it recently became apparent that the state is already overcommitted by NIS 10 billion or more in relation to the spending ceiling permitted by law.
Sources in Jerusalem told "Globes" today that Liberman, who has already received ironic credit for his part in the formation of the joint list of Arab parties that scored success in the last elections (thanks to his initiative in raising the minimum vote threshold for obtaining Knesset representation), will not be overjoyed if he is depicted once again as having benefitted the Arab community in Israel.
Liberman said today that agreement had not yet been reached with the Ministry of Finance on his demands concerning pensions and defense. "Our demands have not changed since the elections," he said, "All along, we have stressed that we do not expect to obtain 100% of our demands. We were prepared to compromise, and have compromised, on religion and state and on the death penalty for terrorists. Two basic matters on which we are not prepared to compromise are the defense portfolio and pensions reform. This is a reform for everyone, not just for Russian immigrants as it is presented, but a reform intended to correct distortions and help the least well-off sections of society. Unfortunately, the proposals we have received from the Ministry of Finance are not such as we can accept."
Kahlon said today in response to Liberman's demands, "It's no secret that I called for expansion of the government; I have pressed for that for the entire past year. As minister of finance I bear responsibility for keeping the state budget under control. The proposal we made to Yisrael Beitenu is extremely fair. It does not discriminate, is not sectoral, and is given to the public at large. We will not allow any proposal that widens social gaps. When one sector receives and another does not, that's a sure recipe for widening gaps.
"Our proposal is worth NIS 1.3-1.4 billion, and it includes the NIS 350 million we announced a month ago. This is the number we can give while maintaining a responsible and stable economic policy. The Kulanu party will not allow a rampage in any area: not economic, not political, and not military. Democracy means equal rights, and everyone will be entitled to this money: Jews, Arabs, the old, the young, veteran citizens and new immigrants. As far as we are concerned, this is the proposal that is on the table."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 23, 2016
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