ABSTRACT
The present chapter analyzes the neoliberal transformation of the Israeli welfare state, and the social protest against the commodification of welfare. The neoliberalization of the Israeli welfare state is analyzed as a central element of the transition to a neoliberal model that begun in 1985 with the Program for the Stabilization of the Economy. The paper analyzes the transformation of transfer payments: children’s allowances, old age basic pensions and disability pensions. The paper also discusses the privatization of other in-cash benefits, such as the privatization of the Israeli pension system and the modification of unemployment benefits. Neoliberalization and privatization, though, were not limited to in-cash benefits, and the case of health care is discussed as an example of commodification of in-kind services. Finally, the paper discusses the massive social protest that took place in 2011 as a reaction to the neoliberalization of the welfare system.
