IDF disabled veterans organization

The IDF disabled veterans organization (Hebrew: ארגון נכי צה"ל) is an Israeli nonprofit association recognized by the Ministry of Defense as the representative organization of Israel Defense Forces disabled veterans. It was founded in the autumn of 1949 by a small group of disabled IDF veterans who were then hospitalized in Ward 6 of the rehabilitation department at Tel HaShomer. The organization began with a strike over hospitalization conditions, which ended in a meeting with then Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion, mediated by Dr. Chaim Sheba, the hospital director. Initially called the "Organization of Disabled Veterans of the War of Independence," it had about 3,400 members at its founding and attempted, unsuccessfully, to unite two smaller predecessor organizations: the Association of War Disabled in Israel, which grouped disabled Jewish veterans and partisans from Allied armies who had fought the Nazis, and Disabled World War II Veterans from the Yishuv Volunteers, former soldiers injured while serving in Hebrew units of the British Army. Today the organization represents a community of roughly 50,000 registered disabled veterans who pay monthly membership dues, out of about 54,000 IDF disabled veterans recognized by the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense with a disability rating above 19%. It also recognizes veterans with 10% to 19% disability who were recognized before January 1, 1996, when the law raised the threshold for a permanent pension and disabled veteran certificate from 10% to 19%. About 89% of members are military disabled veterans who were soldiers at the time of injury; the rest include members of the Israel Police and Border Police, the Israel Prison Service, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, the Knesset Guard, South Lebanon Army personnel, local security squads in border communities, and exceptional cases. Recognition as an IDF disabled veteran is carried out only by the compensation officer in the Rehabilitation Department, which verifies that the injury circumstances occurred during and because of military service. The organization is headed by a chairman elected once every five years, with tenure limited by the bylaws to two five-year terms. The chairman is Adv. Idan Kleiman, and the director-general is Lt. Col. (res.) Yossi Matityahu. Its activities include defending members' rights before the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense, including petitions to the High Court of Justice; insurance activities such as life and long-term care insurance for disabled veterans, half financed by the Ministry of Defense and half by the veterans, with the organization acting as an active collective vis-à-vis the insurer; obtaining fully Ministry-funded supplementary medical insurance; providing favorable loans from a special loan fund; securing scholarships for students alongside Ministry of Defense scholarships; operating "Beit HaLochem" rehabilitation sports centers; social activities for members who also pay separately to Beit HaLochem, such as classes, a pool, competitions, marches, lectures and social gatherings; publishing "HaLochem" (The Fighter), a monthly for IDF disabled veterans that updates members on their rights and community news and includes three interviews per issue with public figures focused on disabled veterans; and, in the 23rd Knesset, establishing and operating the IDF Disabled Veterans Lobby in the Knesset, chaired by MK Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, whose main role is restoring the rights of disabled veterans through legislation and oversight of the Rehabilitation Department in the Ministry of Defense. Alongside the organization, the IDF Disabled Veterans Fund exists as a separate association established to serve as an economic arm for raising donations to develop infrastructure for rehabilitation facilities, purchase equipment, operate and maintain it, and fund the organization's needs.

The IDF disabled veterans organization was founded in the autumn of 1949 by a small group of disabled IDF veterans who were then hospitalized in Ward 6 of the rehabilitation department at Tel HaShomer. The organization began with a strike over hospitalization conditions, which ended in a meeting with then Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion, mediated by Dr. Chaim Sheba, the hospital director. Initially called the "Organization of Disabled Veterans of the War of Independence," it had about 3,400 members at its founding. In its early years it tried to unite two smaller predecessor organizations: the Association of War Disabled in Israel, which grouped disabled Jewish veterans and partisans from Allied armies who had fought the Nazis, and Disabled World War II Veterans from the Yishuv Volunteers, former soldiers injured while serving in Hebrew units of the British Army. These attempts ultimately failed, mainly due to bureaucracy on the part of government institutions. Over the decades the organization grew into the recognized representative body of IDF disabled veterans. By the 2020s it represented about 50,000 registered disabled veterans paying monthly dues, out of about 54,000 IDF disabled veterans recognized by the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense with a disability rating above 19%. It also recognizes veterans with 10% to 19% disability who were recognized before January 1, 1996, when the law raised the threshold for a permanent pension and disabled veteran certificate from 10% to 19%. About 89% of members are military disabled veterans who were soldiers at the time of injury; the rest include members of the Israel Police and Border Police, the Israel Prison Service, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, the Knesset Guard, South Lebanon Army personnel, local security squads in border communities, and exceptional cases. Recognition as an IDF disabled veteran is carried out only by the compensation officer in the Rehabilitation Department, which verifies that the injury circumstances occurred during and because of military service. The organization is headed by a chairman elected once every five years, with tenure limited by the bylaws to two five-year terms. The chairman is Adv. Idan Kleiman, and the director-general is Lt. Col. (res.) Yossi Matityahu. Its activities include defending members' rights before the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense, including petitions to the High Court of Justice; insurance activities such as life and long-term care insurance for disabled veterans, half financed by the Ministry of Defense and half by the veterans, with the organization acting as an active collective vis-à-vis the insurer; obtaining fully Ministry-funded supplementary medical insurance; providing favorable loans from a special loan fund; securing scholarships for students alongside Ministry of Defense scholarships; operating "Beit HaLochem" rehabilitation sports centers; social activities for members who also pay separately to Beit HaLochem, such as classes, a pool, competitions, marches, lectures and social gatherings; publishing "HaLochem" (The Fighter), a monthly for IDF disabled veterans that updates members on their rights and community news and includes three interviews per issue with public figures focused on disabled veterans; and, in the 23rd Knesset, establishing and operating the IDF Disabled Veterans Lobby in the Knesset, chaired by MK Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, whose main role is restoring the rights of disabled veterans through legislation and oversight of the Rehabilitation Department in the Ministry of Defense. Alongside the organization, the IDF Disabled Veterans Fund exists as a separate association established to serve as an economic arm for raising donations to develop infrastructure for rehabilitation facilities, purchase equipment, operate and maintain it, and fund the organization's needs. The fund is headed by a chair separate from the organization's chair and is responsible for fundraising, mainly in Jewish communities worldwide. The organization's status as the representative organization allows its leaders to represent all disabled veterans before the Rehabilitation Department in discussions on benefits and changes to veterans' rights, to declare a strike, and prevents any other group of disabled veterans from organizing to represent IDF disabled veterans vis-à-vis the state. At the end of 2013, the Israel Friends Association of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization was founded to deepen the Israeli public's awareness of and commitment to the rehabilitation process of IDF wounded and disabled veterans. The association's volunteer chairman is Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Shkedi. In 2015 the Israel Friends Association formulated a first-of-its-kind project, the "Trip of Liberation" in India, a backpacking journey for IDF disabled veterans as part of the rehabilitation process. The organization receives support from the Ministry of Defense of about 8 million shekels per year (2009), alongside fixed payments from members and fundraising from donations raised by the IDF Disabled Veterans Fund in Jewish communities outside Israel. It operates five "Beit HaLochem" centers in Israel: in Ashdod, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva. It also operates Beit Kay, a convalescent home for IDF disabled veterans in Nahariya. These centers offer a wide range of sports, rehabilitation and social services for IDF disabled veterans; some activities are also open to family members of organization members.

• 2015

  Israel Friends Association formulated the "Trip of Liberation" in India, a backpacking journey for IDF disabled veterans.

• 2013

  Israel Friends Association of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization founded at the end of the year.

• 2009

  Organization received about 8 million shekels per year in support from the Ministry of Defense.

• 1996

  Law changed the threshold for a permanent pension and disabled veteran certificate from 10% to 19% disability.

• 1949

  Founded in the autumn by a small group of disabled IDF veterans hospitalized at Tel HaShomer; began with a strike over hospitalization conditions that ended in a meeting with David Ben-Gurion.

The officially recognized representative organization of Israel Defense Forces disabled veterans, acting as a collective bargaining and advocacy body vis-à-vis the state.

• Beit HaLochem rehabilitation sports centers

  Five centers in Ashdod, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva offering sports, rehabilitation and social services.

• Beit Kay convalescent home

  A convalescent home for IDF disabled veterans in Nahariya.

• HaLochem monthly magazine

  A monthly for IDF disabled veterans updating members on their rights and community news, with three interviews per issue.

• Trip of Liberation

1. 1IDF disabled veterans organization - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2ארגון נכי צה"ל - Wikipedia (Hebrew)he.wikipedia.org