June 6th was Blind Day - a day of awareness of the community of blind and visually impaired persons in Israel. The day is organized by the Center for the Blind in Israel and is also marked by the Knesset (Parliament of Israel).
The following is the story of a complaint on the subject which was investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman:
The Office of the Ombudsman investigated a complaint which centred on the fact that the Service for the Blind in the Ministry of Welfare did not authorize the granting of an allowance to blind women who had reached the age of 62, despite their entitlement to a certificate of blindness, for the reason that they had reached retirement age. On the other hand, the Service granted the allowance to blind men of the same age, since their retirement age is 67.
Accordingly, a situation was created whereby a man who lost his sight and was entitled to a certificate of blindness between the age of 62 to 67 received from the state an allowance, whereas a woman coping with the same hardship within the same age range did not receive the allowance for the sole reason that she was a woman.
The Ombudsman pointed out to the Ministry of Welfare that there seemed no justification for differentiating between women and men on this matter.
Following the intervention of the Ombudsman, the Ministry of Welfare notified that it had been decided to make the maximum age for eligibility for the allowance equal for men and for women, so that women could also enter the category of persons entitled to the allowance until the age of 67.
The Ministry also informed the Ombudsman that it was working to apply the change to all eligible women and to update the relevant regulations. It also notified that the complainant, who had received a certificate of blindness after the age of 62, had been found eligible for the allowance.