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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 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶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. 
 
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LOCAL POLITICS IS THE KEY 
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¶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. 
 
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THE PENSIONERS SEIZE THE DAY 
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¶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. 
 
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EITAN HEADS FOR HOME 
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¶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. 
 
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READ OUR PLATFORM -- NOT OUR CVS 
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¶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. 
 
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SOCIAL SECURITY FIRST 
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¶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." 
 
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OTHER PENSIONER PARTY MKS 
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-- 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