http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/030725/single.shtml

JERUSALEM - A single mother's 120-mile hike to protest government cuts to
social welfare benefits has captivated public and media attention and
spawned similar treks around the country.

While the growing tent encampment set up by Mitzpe Ramon resident Vicky
Knafo and her comrades on the sidewalk across from the Finance Ministry
building in Jerusalem is becoming a pilgrimage site for sup-porters and
well-wishers, some observers question whether the single mothers will be
able to translate their campaign into a political force capable of affecting
economic policy.

The protests come in response to budget cuts pushed by Finance Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, aimed at liberalizing and jump-starting Israel's
economy.

Israel's economy - hurt by nearly three years of violence with the
Palestinians - has shrunk by 1 percent each of the last two years, and
unemployment is approach-ing an all-time high of 11 percent.

Knafo, a 43-year-old mother of three, embarked on her weeklong trek from the
Negev town of Mitzpe Ramon to Jerusalem to protest government cuts to income
supplements, which she said represent the dif-ference between sub-sistence
and star-vation for single mothers.

The gravelly-voiced, curly-headed Knafo said she was propelled by her
personal need. But her undertaking inspired other women - and some men - to
set off on similar treks from around the country. They include Ilana Azulai,
an Arad resident who was accompanied by her 17-year-old wheelchair-bound
son, as well as Aliza Ezra, a mother of three who walked from Shlomi in the
Upper Galilee. Describing the eco-nomic hardships the women face, Ezra said
her National Insurance Institute al-lowance last month was cut from less
than $800 to less than $600.

"I don't know what to pay first," she told the daily Ha'aretz. "Food,
electricity, water or the telephone."

The number of families who will be affected by the cuts is not
insignificant.

According to the National Insurance Institute, 112,000 single-parent
families, with children up to age 21, live in Israel. About 64 percent
receive some form of state support. According to Ha'aretz, 87,000
single-parent mothers with children up to age 17 live in Israel. About 76
percent of them work outside the home.

As the grass-roots movement gathers steam, the Treasury has tried to stress
that the aim of the measures is to shift the emphasis on income support away
from welfare and toward job incentives.

Netanyahu recently unveiled a plan that he said is aimed at helping single
mothers go back to work. The proposal included providing grants for up to
one year for women who work at least one-third of the time. The plan also
calls for generating employment for the single mothers through public works
projects. Critics said that the grants are only short-term solutions while
the stipends would continue to be cut, and that the job incentives are also
tem-porary.

In a related development, a public committee has been formed to review
extra-ordinary cases of single parents. And certain sectors in the economy
have pledged to try to help find work for the single mothers.

Knafo, who is employed, rejected what she said were efforts by the Treasury
to paint the single mothers as parasites who prefer welfare support to work.
According to the plan, some of the most severe austerity measures will be
cuts in income supplements for working mothers earning the minimum wage.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on July 20 gave his backing to
Netanyahu's efforts and did not open a Cabinet discussion on the protest.

But the single mothers appear to have a sympathetic ear from President Moshe
Katsav, who met with a delegation on July 20 and heard about their plight.

Katsav was quoted as saying that he doubted the government was aware of the
plight of the women and those in similar situations, Israel Radio reported.


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