Protests Erupt in Israel After Veteran Sets Himself on Fire
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Photos: Jerusalem Post
Hundreds of disabled Israeli veterans and their caregivers protested in the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday. They called for the end of the Defense Ministry’s “abandonment of the IDF’s handicapped.”
Last week disabled IDF veteran Itzik Saidian set himself on fire at an office of the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division triggering the protests.
The protests blocked the intersection of Kaplan Street next to Azrieli Center and one side of the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.
Idan Kleiman, chairman of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization, said that “the Defense Ministry’s Disability Rehabilitation Division is in a state of total disarray, both in terms of its functionality and values.” Furthermore, he slammed its “scandalous treatment” of handicapped veterans.
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Demonstrators in Tel Aviv, today, criticizing the Defense Ministry for its abandoment of the IDF s disabled Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
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On Sunday, Sheba Medical Center said that they completed Saidian s operation.
Dr. Moti Haretz, an expert in the burns unit, said that “the planned operation, which lasted about 3 hours, has ended. This is a familiar surgery for this type of injury. The injured is recovering but is still in a very serious condition, on a ventilator and anesthetic, and we are continuing to fight for his life.”
The demonstrators in Tel Aviv, which obstructed Kaplan Street and temporarily Ayalon Highway, called for an end to what they described as the ministry s abandonment of the IDF s handicapped.