Head of the IDF organization for disabled veterans: We're being victimized
Idan Clayman called PM Benjamin Netanyahu to "wake up" and help his and his fellow warriors' situation
By OMRI RONIDF soldiers partake in a drill (photo credit: IDF)
Idan Clayman, head of the IDF Organization for the Disabled spoke at the "influence conference" TV Channel 12 on Thursday about the situation of IDF disabled veterans. He said, “The State of Israel is making the life of the IDF disabled miserable. The branch that should have taken care of our recovery has collapsed.” He then called on the government to take a stance.Clayman began his time at the organization back in 2004, and during the middle of August was voted unanimously to lead the organization which represents around 50,000 disabled veterans.Clayman claimed that they have turned from the nation’s heroes into a burden on the state budget.“Everything is about money these days,” he said. “We have turned into yesterday’s heroes. Today, those who have received the role of taking care of us are saying, 'You’re a burden on the nation’s safety.'”Despite this, he said that he and his fellow former soldiers will never turn their backs on the country. “We’re the people who were injured in the wars of Israel, are also responsible for the country’s safety and will always call our finest youths to enlist and give it their all, we will never do anything that would hurt national moral” he said. “How could one explain to the Israeli public that the pact between the IDF warriors and the people of Israel has been violated by the lawmakers and their various representatives?”At the end of his speech Clayman addressed the Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the CEO of the Ministry of Defense with a call to action: “Wake up! We’re not a union fighting for a better salary, we’re fighting for our health, our honor and our very lives," later adding, “We won’t be victimized, we’re not asking for charity, we’re asking the State of Israel to love us, to embrace us, just as we love it. We demand what we deserve by law.”Clayman’s claims are not the only one of their kind, as many other handicapped citizens have expressed their increasing plight in various ways. One of the most common tactics of protest is the blocking of major roads and train tracks, protesting how they cannot live from the meager welfare money they receive, as their monthly stipend is the same as the 5300 NIS monthly minimum wage.Couple this with the election and national deficit issues going on, and one can see there is little hope for a quick resolution.
