The Knesset today voted down a proposed new law that would have extended unemployment benefits to people who are self-employed or freelancers. The law failed to pass by one vote, with 55 against and 54 in favor.
This was the seventh time in the last five years that an attempt to extend such benefits failed to pass the Knesset.
The issue is especially sensitive today in Israel because of all of the independent workers who work on a freelance basis and small business owners who lost their jobs and business due to the Covid shutdowns. Fully employed people were entitled to take a temporary layoff and receive unemployment benefits. But the self-employed had no such option.
Ironically, the one vote that made the difference came from Deputy Minister Avraham “Abir” Kara (Yamina), a self-describe social activist, who himself once led an organization (“I Am Shulman”) which he established for improving the conditions for the self-employed. Kara said that he voted against it because he believes that people should take responsibility for their own “safety net.”
Kara explained his reasons saying that he thinks that a person can set aside the funds for himself for the possibility of illness or unemployment. He also stated that he opposed the law as written because it would impose an additional National Insurance tax and the self-employed to pay for any possible unemployment benefits.