Stav Shaffir
@StavShaffir · Hostage families & civil society
Stav Shaffir is an Israeli social activist and politician.
From the new lists of the liberal camp, it seems that there are people here who think the battle for democracy will end when we win the election. The lists are indeed full of good and impressive people, and I am very happy that they chose to enter politics. But most of them have no political experience at all. And this could be a tragic mistake. On the day after — assuming that the coalition of the majority and sanity emerging in the polls is formed here — an opposition with murder in its eyes will be built against it. What do you think, that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir will simply politely pack up and go home? These are people who are building long-term infrastructure here and are willing to cross every legal or moral boundary. We will need to put up against them leaders who know the methods of our political opponents and are ready for every trick. They will not have the privilege of learning on the job and making mistakes because the other side will be at war. If we do not prepare for this seriously, God forbid, we may very quickly return to the situation we were in in November 22.
Translated from HebrewMK Vladimir Beliak is one of the most serious and determined people we have in the Knesset. And one of the few who took on the Sisyphean work of the Finance Committee—he studied seriously and fought courageously. I cannot fathom how he is not in the top ten of Beyachad. Who will know how to do this work? What will they do when the opposition of Strook and Smotrich comes with years of experience in every trick and in corruption and sets ambushes for them morning and evening? A great shame
Translated from HebrewMy sister, I’m so proud of you! Adi Altschuler, who has already managed to revolutionize the education system from the outside, and whose whole life is devoted to doing good—you will soon be able to do it on a grand scale. And I tell you, as someone who has known this woman for more than 20 years and knows how many times she refused offers to enter politics and continued building enormous social initiatives from the outside: this is an excellent choice by Eisenkot. Adi will rebuild the country’s most important ministry here. We won.
Translated from HebrewThis country is still breathing thanks to citizens who keep everything going here. Who build things in place of the state. Who keep the most basic social services running because there is no one else to do it. Who run all over the world to raise donations because there is no money here for these things. I want to tell you, as someone who has been doing this for quite a few years, that this will not hold up much longer. We need a change in government, but we also urgently need a deep change in approach. The ministries that serve the most struggling populations must be viewed not as consolation prizes but as the foundation of everything. They need both structural treatment and budgetary blood transfusions to save the body. On this foundation: every person deserves a life of dignity. Every single one. And it is our job to make that happen. If you have read this far, you are truly amazing. Thank you. I would appreciate it if you shared this.
Translated from Hebrew>> Wait! There are people who do profit. Besides organizations like ours, commercial companies also operate in the field of special needs. Some of them receive funding from the state, throw patients into a crowded room with sedatives, and turn the remainder into huge profits. The state barely supervises and avoids checking how it can be that, on the one hand, a commercial company makes a fortune, while on the other hand, organizations that provide quality services are forced to raise donations just to survive at all. When I was in the Knesset, I used my immunity to enter and check what care institutions look like from the inside. I discovered terrible things. I warned the Welfare Ministry. I brought the director general to my committee and demanded answers. At the ministry, they were surprised every time: What, the caregivers are paid minimum wage? What, in a hostel in central Israel, patients are not allowed to enter their rooms without permission, and everything is locked with keys because there are not enough caregivers? I also warned them about the Bnei Zion facility after I visited it. I saw signs of violence there. A few years later, in 2022, terrible abuse of residents was exposed there. Only then did the state step in. In another facility, Beit Dafna, three people with disabilities died as a result of food poisoning (the Health Ministry later found deficiencies in cleanliness, procedures, and more). And where is the state?? >>
Translated from Hebrew>> Because in the State of Israel there is no money for people with special needs. Over the past year, the local council asked us to open a branch of our center that would provide services to people with severe intellectual and physical disabilities. We began intensive preparations. We need to find a building and renovate it to suit this population, recruit and train staff, obtain adapted equipment, and so on. Meanwhile, Israel is in another war with Iran, prices are rising, there is an insane shortage of workers in the field (which all institutions in the country are suffering from), and donations to the special-needs field have declined significantly because urgent needs in the country have increased in every area. And how is the state dealing with it? It is not. Let us talk numbers. For an adult with an intellectual disability and a severe physical disability, who also needs help with eating, bathing, and changing, as well as care, learning, therapy, and things that will give their life meaning, we as an organization receive a budget of about 6,000 shekels a month from the state. For daily care, right? The state does not provide a building. Go rent one. Renovate it. Make it accessible. Recruit staff. Bring them to us. Then wait for the state to decide how many people it will send you and when. It may send only five, or 20. Payment depends on the people who showed up. You will finance the gap. From where? In meetings with the welfare authorities, they tell us we are not supposed to rely on donations. In the same breath, they also admit that their rates will not be enough for us. So where is the money supposed to come from? From the sky? Meanwhile, according to the State Comptroller, almost 40% of special-education graduates whom the Welfare Ministry recognizes as eligible for its services receive no service at all. They are stuck at home
Translated from HebrewOctober 11, 2023. Four days after the massacre. My little sister Shir, who was born with autism and an intellectual disability, empties her wardrobe in fear. “I want to donate to the residents of the south.” It is also her birthday. She is 33, but mentally like a 3-year-old. She needs close, round-the-clock care, 24-7. A few days later, at one of the hotels hosting evacuees, I meet a 25-year-old young woman with autism who survived the massacre in the Gaza border communities. She had nowhere to go, and we contacted the Welfare Ministry so they would allow her to enter our center, which cares for young people with disabilities. Although it was clear that this was an emergency case requiring us to bypass bureaucratic hurdles such as admissions committees, we still had to wage a war of attrition until the state approved her entry. Since then, we have gone through three years of real war in the background—try opening programs even when there are missile threats and explaining to the state that 30-year-olds with autism and low functioning are not children in kindergarten whose program can simply be closed and reopened. And try continuing to raise donations when all the philanthropy in the country is already taking the place of the state in supporting the collapsing welfare and health institutions, and trying to save tens of thousands of war casualties and trauma victims. Yes, in this election, the struggle for our democracy and security is the most urgent thing there is. An existential struggle. But in my heart I am waiting for one party to say out loud: There is a welfare emergency in Israel. And demand this portfolio. Because people here are collapsing. A great many people. And when they collapse, their families collapse with them. A personal sharing for Shabbat >>
Translated from HebrewThere needs to be an inquiry commission into every decision of this government.
Translated from HebrewOn October 7, we woke up in nature in the south on a trip. At seven in the morning, my husband picked up his phone and saw the reports on Twitter. “I think we're in the Yom Kippur War.” He left me with a baby girl and two children in Mitzpe Ramon and raced with the car to the base. No one had received a summons; everyone simply showed up. Only Netanyahu, “Mr. Security,” yeah right, didn’t think he needed to hurry anywhere.
Translated from Hebrew“How did we not understand that we were the silver platter?” writes Dr. Nadiv Mordechai after reading my book, which tells how the state budget was stolen for the sake of a regime coup long before 2023. When Netanyahu and Levin’s legislation arrived that January, the country already looked different, and all of it was done in the dark. And I will add: A new government must change the budget from the ground up if we want to save democracy. Thank you, Nadiv, for a smart and thought-provoking review!
Translated from HebrewThe only thing that is really surprising about the poll published yesterday is that the coalition responsible for the biggest security failure in the state’s history even clears the electoral threshold.
Translated from HebrewAn exciting, brilliant and hope-inspiring move. It may very well decide the election too. Above all, it is simply a clear-eyed look at Israeli reality, but one that requires immense courage in these dark days. Thanks to such courage, there will be a chance for sane lives here. Thank you, @YSegalovitz @mnsorabbas
Translated from Hebrew
Connected stories
- Adi Altschuler Joins Yashar as Its Education Minister Candidate
- Netanyahu Did Not Request IDF Chief Call Before 9:45 on October 7, Report Says
- Netanyahu’s Office Says He Ordered Full Mobilization at 9:55 on October 7
- Poll Puts Netanyahu and Eisenkot Blocs in 53-Seat Tie
- Segalovitz Joins Ra’am as First Jewish Candidate, Taking No. 2 Slot