THE PENSIONER PARTY: THE YOUNGEST PARTY OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 001874 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR IS GOI INTERNAL SUBJECT: THE PENSIONER PARTY: THE YOUNGEST PARTY OF THE OLDEST MEMBERS -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. With seven new members of the Knesset whose average age is 72 years, and of whom only two were expected to capture seats in the country's parliament, the leaders of the Pensioner Party are now billed as the custodians of Israel's "social agenda" -- a title dearly coveted by Labor Party leader Amir Peretz. The Pensioner Party, headed by millionaire businessman and real- estate owner Rafi Eitan, took the 2006 elections by storm and now promises that within one year it will improve the condition of Israelis over the age of 65. Rejected by Sharon and Olmert's Kadima party for realistic spots on their list in advance of the elections, this small group of retirees, seeking an electoral vehicle for their platform, was left with no choice but to form their own party. They then went on to capture the retiree vote and to be adopted as a default option by disillusioned under-35s throughout the greater Tel Aviv area. Post-election, and armed with seven Knesset seats, the Pensioner Party, which seeks to represent all Israelis above retirement age, was the first to sign a coalition agreement with Kadima, offering their support of Olmert's "convergence" plan and an amended 2006 budget in return for cabinet seats. End Summary. -------------- LOCAL POLITICS IS THE KEY -------------- ¶2. Municipal elections in Israel are rarely referenced as pointers to the possible outcome of the national ballot, but, as one of Israel's more astute observers noted, they should be. Writing in Ha'aretz only two days after the Pensioner Party's unanticipated March 28 win of seven Knesset seats, Avirama Golan recalled that a different pensioner list took first place in the 2003 elections for the Tel Aviv municipality, winning six seats and pushing Mayor Ron Huldai's list down to third place. The municipal victory owed much to disaffected young voters who cast a protest ballot for the pensioners without even a cursory investigation of their platform or the composition of their list. This scenario repeated itself even more forcefully in the 2006 national elections. -------------- THE PENSIONERS SEIZE THE DAY -------------- ¶3. For at least a decade, pensioner lists have attempted and failed to meet the qualifying threshold in national elections. Rafi Eitan's list broke out of the mold through an extraordinary convergence of timing, mood and political reality. Eitan's list is largely composed of former Labor Party faithful. Traditionally, the elderly in the center of the country have voted for that party, which largely founded the state of Israel. Eitan's list identified the disillusionment of these veteran Labor supporters and demonstrated that leaders of major Labor-dominated workers organizations could break away to establish their own political grouping with a new agenda, which dared to ignore the two "sacred cows" -- diplomatic and security issues -- of Israeli electoral campaigns. The Pensioner Party claims to represent some 750,000 persons over retirement age in Israel -- not all of whom receive pensions. The party's campaign managers estimate that senior citizens' votes accounted for five of the seven seats won, with another two seats coming from young Israelis "voting for Grandpa and Grandma" in a protest backlash against the established front- runners, including Kadima. The outcome: The Pensioner Party took votes not just from Labor, but also from Kadima and even Likud and went on to parlay its election success into cabinet posts. Party leader Eitan won Pensioners' Affairs, while the key Ministry of Health went to his number two, Yaakov Ben Yizri. -------------- EITAN HEADS FOR HOME -------------- ¶4. Despite a political culture that puts personality and personal achievement at a premium, the Pensioner Party downplays the profiles and achievements of its members. Legend has it that Rafi Eitan -- former GSS operative, Mossad agent and Pollard-handler -- was the inspiration for "Kurtz" the master-spy in John Le Carr's 1983 best-seller "The Little Drummer Girl." Eitan's latest "mission" may only bear the most ironic relation to his clandestine past: the spy who came in from the cold, only to find a haven in Havana, is now seeking rehabilitation at home by pledging his efforts to the social security of Israel's senior citizens. By signing a coalition agreement that stops just short of a merger with Kadima, Eitan has guaranteed his party the influential slot that Sharon denied him, along with access to considerable funding and political clout. As for Eitan's party colleagues, all have been active in leading pensioners' organizations and some, such as Yaakov Ben Yizri, have solid administrative backgrounds. The 79-year old health minister has served as chairman of the Central Pensioners' Fund and has a strong background in labor organizations. The youngest of the party's seven MKs, 59-year old Elhanan Glazer, is an industrial technician by profession who reached the rank of major in the IDF. -------------- READ OUR PLATFORM -- NOT OUR CVS -------------- ¶5. As intriguing as the Pensioner Party members' biographies might be, their most controversial figure - - party chairman Eitan -- insists that it is their platform and not their personal histories that define them. The pensioners themselves have defined that platform with great simplicity: protecting pensioners' rights; and expanding the national health services and social security benefits for the nation's elderly. Ben Yizri, the new health minister, wants to raise the compulsory health tax to 0.4% to provide another 3,000 beds for geriatric patients, as well as free medication for the chronically sick and subsidized nursing care where needed. On the social benefits side, Ben Yizri has identified a legal provision that is not being implemented: state pensions should be set at 24% of the average wage. At present they amount to only 14.5%. Implementation of the Pensioner Party's demands would cost between 1 and 1.5 billion NS. In the event that the Labor Party secures its demand to raise the minimum wage to the equivalent of USD 1,000 USD, this would increase the average wage, which is the base for calculation of pensioner benefits. In addition, restoration of benefits that have been curtailed in recent years by budget cuts, such as a 33% reduction in municipal taxes for pensioners, is also on the party's agenda. -------------- SOCIAL SECURITY FIRST -------------- ¶6. Pensioner Party MKs consistently resist attempts by reporters to extract some semblance of a policy position on security and diplomatic issues. The MKs' focus on their social platform and avoidance of pronouncements on national security concerns are viewed by pundits as implying that they will support Kadima's convergence plan as stated in the coalition agreement signed by the two parties. Ben Yizri is on record with a statement that leaves considerable room for maneuver: the party and its electorate, he says, "seek stability and tranquility... and prefer the path of dialogue and compromise." -------------- OTHER PENSIONER PARTY MKS -------------- -- Yaakov Ben Yizri, 78, deputy party chairman, chairman of the Pensioners' Foundation. Born in Morocco and resident of Kfar Saba, he is considered an expert on pension funds and the public health system. He is married with one child and three grandchildren. -- Moshe Sharoni, 77, resident of Haifa and chairman of the Haifa Municipality's Pensioners' Organization. Born in Romania, he served 13 years as chairman of the Haifa Municipality's Workers' Union, has a BA degree in Urban Administration, and is married with two children and three grandchildren. -- Izhak Ziv, 66, deputy chairman of the Bezek Pensioners. Born in Jerusalem, he is currently a resident of Ramat Gan and served as chairman of the Postal Authority Workers Association. He is a widower with three children and five grandchildren. -- Itshac Galantee, 69, founder and chairman of the Pensioners' Organization at Israel Electric. A resident of Nesher, he served as head of IE's engineering division and is a founder of the Democratic Movement in Haifa. He has an M.A. degree in Archeology and a B.A. in Political Science. -- Elhanan Glazer, 59, chairman of the Military Industry's Pensioners' Organization. A resident of Rishon Lezion, he is a widower, with three children and five grandchildren. -- Sarah Marom Shalev, 72, chairman of the Rehovot Municipality Pensioners' Organization. A resident of Rehovot, she is married with two children and four grandchildren. JONES