Defense Ministry promises immediate change in treatment of disabled vets
The Defense Ministry will launch a thorough and comprehensive plan to improve the treatment of disabled IDF veterans, ministry Director-General Amir Eshel said on Sunday. The first part of the plan will be brought for cabinet approval as soon as next Sunday, he said.
“Parts of this plan were ready already four months ago, but due to the election, we weren’t able to bring them forward,” Eshel said.
In a Zoom briefing with reporters, he acknowledged that the incident in which IDF veteran Itzik Saidian set himself on fire in front of a Defense Ministry office in protest of the poor treatment he received was a catalyst in the process.
“There is no doubt that the situation here was dramatically changed due to Itzik’s move, which was caused by his despair,” Eshel said. “I feel that we are on the verge of a major change. It is not only the Defense Ministry but also other players in the field. I see that there is a will to make a deep change.”
The change will be “a fundamental change” and not “just wrapping or PR… If we won’t bring a fundamental change, we will call it a failure,” he said. “If we will make changes that are like a Band-Aid, it will blow up in our faces. It will happen sooner or later; the question is just when.”
The first steps would be taken in the near future, Eshel said.
“We assume that despite the polarization in the political sphere, there is a consensus in this fundamental change that we aim to bring,” he said. “And I want to stress that the things that are ready to be changed will start as soon as possible.”
However, things that require legislation and thorough examination will take time, Eshel said.
“Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s directive is to storm at