UBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" cease the abuse of crippled IDF veterans Sunday, February 28, 2010       14 Adar, 5770         Web JPost.com create JPOST.COM your Home Page       Jerusalem 13 °C fresh York 1 °C London 5 °C   Home | Headlines | Iranian Threat | Jewish World | idea | Trade | true Estate | Local Israel | Blogs | Arts & Culture | Français  | Classifieds  Israel | Middle East | International | Health & Sci-Tech | Features | go | Cafe Oleh | Magazine | Sports | Israel Guide | Subscribe | Services Archives JP Toolbar Christian World Youth Magazines RSS Feeds News Ticker More Services JPost Store Israel Hotels Vacation Rentals Philanthropy Green Israel Car Rentals Learn Hebrew JPost Mall Sderot Dove JP Travel Guide Links Purim E-cards Christian World Ten Tribes Advertise on JPost Media Kit לימוד אנגלית      Breaking News     JPost.com Opinion Editorials   .large_body p, .large_body span { font-size: 18px; } .small_body p, .small_body span { font-size: 12px; } end the abuse of disabled IDF veterans By JPOST EDITORIAL 27/02/2010 17:54 The existing travesty is certainly not in keeping with Ben-Gurion’s vision. We need to do less for the pretenders, and far more for authentic disabled veterans. Talkbacks (2)     No sooner had Israel’s Conflict of Independence concluded when prime minister David Ben-Gurion sponsored the Disabled Veterans Law – “to repay some of the debt we owe those who sacrificed their physical well-being to liberate the nation and its homeland.”Last week, the Knesset commission charged with investigating how the Defense Ministry’s Departments for Rehabilitation of Disabled IDF Veterans and for Bereaved Households discharges their duties, contended in its interim report that the moral obligation Ben-Gurion cited is unfulfilled.Rather than being treated as heroes, judged the committee, disabled veterans are perceived as charity cases, people “a rich uncle from across the street has been kind enough to hold care of.”The likely reason for this unjust state of affairs, nonetheless, is underscored by another investigation: The Goren Committee, named for retired judge Uri Goren who heads it, was set up by the government last May to reexamine eligibility standard for Defense Ministry assistance. Its preliminary findings are shocking.To start with, only 26 percent of veterans now on the IDF rehabilitation rolls were actually injured in action or wounded under circumstances even remotely connected with army activity. Only 12% of the fallen, moreover, fell in the line of duty or in the framework of IDF service.Most casualties had nothing whatever to do with the service, except for the fact that the deceased or wounded were formally enlisted at the time.Most mishaps happened throughout furloughs, especially when soldiers took the family car for a joy-ride, went clubbing, got into a gang-fight or drove under the influence. The IDF also pays for the consequences of ice skating, water skiing, snow skiing, diving, rafting, soccer and other leisure-time accidents.In one notable case, a soldier on leave burglarized a store and, while torching it to ruin evidence, sustained burns. Now a recipient of Rehabilitation Department largesse, he is treated on a par with veterans wounded in combat.In addition, the IDF’s disability designation is accorded for a assortment of ailments – both psychological and physical – whose link to military service is feeble and unsubstantiated.In recent testimony before the Goren Committee, journalist Amnon Abramovich, himself a disabled Yom Kippur War veteran, lambasted “the IDF disability industry.”Doctors and lawyers are employed by claimants seeking to secure higher assistance. According to Abramovich, disability benefits are wangled for skin rashes, hemorrhoids, buzzing in the ears and dubious traumas and aches.The inevitable upshot is the “short blanket”do – pulling it from one side exposes the other. The Rehabilitation Department spends around NIS 4 billion annually, yet even such mammoth outlays prove insufficient. Those who suffer are the bona fide disabled battlefield and service veterans.In 2006, following the Second Lebanon War, the Brodet Commission was appointed to scrutinize the defense budget as a whole. It recommended restricting disability entitlements to “those injured in actions of a military or security nature.”All the others, it stated, ought to be transferred to the National Insurance Institute’s care. The latter’s criteria and benefits, though, are far less generous.The very prospect of alter inflamed the Disabled IDF Veterans Organization, sparked protests and led to both the Knesset and Goren inquiries.The association’s gripes are warranted yet its case is undermined by the fact that its membership includes all too many with clear vested interests to fiercely safeguard entitlements for non-military casualties. Running afraid, the association slammed Abramovich and likened the Goren Committee to the UN’s Goldstone Commission.However offense isn’t always the best defense. Both the Brodet and Goren committees are on the correct track, whereas the association in part represents a constituency with very shaky claims to disabled-veteran status. It is part and parcel of the culture of machinations to squeeze out undeserved benefits. It further ingrains the corollary culture of dependency in which those to whom we truly owe the most are shortchanged, crushed and humiliated.The existing travesty is certainly not in keeping with Ben-Gurion’s vision. We need to do less for the pretenders, and far more for authentic disabled veterans.       Rate this article         Talkback Add a Talkback Report Abuse Read all Talkbacks end Thank you for sending your comment. Your reply has been recieved. If selected for publication, it will appear on our site as soon as feasible. The JPost.com Team Close Add Talkback: Please enter a valid name Please enter a valid address Subject *Author   State Message (MAX 600 characters) 600 *Email ( Will not be released ) I wish to recieve updates and offers from JPost.com *I have read and accepted the Readers' Submissions policy Submit *Required fields 1. Very necessary columnDr. Reuven AdlerIsrael2/28/201007:44I salute the Post for the guts it took to publish this truth. It's unpopular to disclose it like it is, but it had to be said. Your choice of local issues for your editorials is commendable.   Send Large little Print       Most Talkbacked UK interviews 'passport victims'Dubai Police chief Dahi Khalfam Tamim: We have DNA, fingerprints of hit team.Talkbacks (55)27/02/2010 08:08'Iran moves uranium above ground'Official: Teheran's odd move is akin to painting bull's-eye on stockpile.Talkbacks (44)27/02/2010 13:35IAF expands training for rapid refuelingExclusive: Long-range destinations like Iran would necessitate risky practice.Talkbacks (21)28/02/2010 03:47     IDF veterans David Ben Gurion Goldstone report Knesset disabled   Web JPost.com     JPosts Sites: The Jerusalem Report JPost Mall Philantropy Center Green Israel Jpost Edition Francaise Invest in Israel Christian World America's Voices Our Magazines Sites Of Interest: Car Rental Israel Car Rental in Israel Jpost Store Israel Hotels Vacation Apt. 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