The Movement for Quality in Government (MQG) wants to know why MK Nachman Shai receives a life-long army pension after having served less than half of the required time for eligibility.
MQG has filed a complaint with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and with State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, demanding an investigation into why the rookie Kadima MK is receiving such favorable benefits, even as he receives his Knesset salary.
The facts of the case are quite straightforward and undisputed. Shai served as Commander of the Army Radio station, and then as IDF spokesman during the Gulf War in 1991 (when he became known as the "national calmer") – for a total of three years and one month. This period was somewhat less than the eight years required for one to receive a life-long pension. The army, wishing to help him out, put him on “unpaid vacation” status for the next four years and eleven months, after which he officially retired from the army – and began receiving his monthly pension checks.
Under the common assumption that other former officers benefit from a similar arrangement, MQG demands an investigation into the extent of the phenomenon and who is responsible for it.
Though the practice was ended three years ago, MQG says that regulations must be instituted that will prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. “Even if they were done within the framework of the law, they are unacceptable by any standard,” MQG stated.
Ironically, the story was a news scoop of the Army Radio newsroom – the same body that Shai himself, when he commanded the station, instructed “not to look for scoops,” according to one former Army Radio staffer.