There is a famous Mishnah in Pirkei Avot that states, "A forty-year old obtains understanding; a fifty-year old can offer counsel; a sixty-year old attains seniority...." The Mishnah teaches the important lesson of valuing the knowledge, experience and wisdom

Should we all of a sudden be surprised at the plight of our nation's elderly?

of those who are older than us. Clearly, the elderly are people who are to be respected and cherished.


Israel will soon celebrate its sixtieth birthday and attain "seniority", but are we a country that is aging gracefully, or are we a nation that is trying to cover over our wrinkles and hide our age and our aged?


A local news station recently did an expose on one of the largest companies in Israel that owns and operates senior residences. The "scoop" was that a residence that caterers to senior citizens would not accept someone for admission who needed to use an assistive device like a walker.


"Why?" the reporter asked, incredulously.


The response was simply that the "staff did not really accept these type of people."


Ironically, the very same day of this expose, I had visited another senior facility that likens itself to a palace. When I asked if they admitted people who used wheelchairs or walkers, but were otherwise independent, I was told in no uncertain terms that "those types of people were not accepted," because it was "upsetting" to the others. The purpose of the expose was clearly to shock the public into knowing that a company that was purported to provide services to senior citizens really only caters to certain, healthy-looking seniors, not the old, frail kind.


The story of discriminatory admission policies at senior residence facilities pales in comparison to the seemingly endless stories of elder abuse that have been taking place in Israel. The media has fed us what seems to be an unending series of pictures of senior citizens with bruised and battered faces that have been robbed, assaulted or even attacked "just for fun."


The public is outraged and demands that something be done about the problem. And so, our politicians dutifully call press conferences and create committees to study the phenomenon of elder abuse. We are shown more pictures of solemn looking police officers on patrol to ensure that seniors can cash their monthly insurance checks safely.


Should we all of a sudden be surprised at the plight of our nation's elderly? Israel has consistently ranked lowest among the Western countries in its treatment of the elderly. Even with the surprising electoral success of the Pensioner's Party, there has been no appreciable improvement in the lives of our seniors.


Judaism has longed placed great emphasis on honoring and respecting our elders; yet, we can't seem to get it right. Where did we go wrong and how can we improve our

Judaism has longed placed great emphasis on honoring and respecting our elders.

treatment of the people who have given so much and suffered so that we can live in a land far different than the one they found sixty years ago and more?


In today's "post-Zionist" Israel, our leaders lack any clear set of beliefs and values, which filters down to the rest of our society. Contrast this with the presidential election campaign in the United States. In a country that fundamentally believes in the separation of church and state, it is interesting to see candidates jockeying to demonstrate their religiosity, morals and values. When Ehud Olmert was running for Prime Minister, I can only recall him telling voters that "Israelis want to have fun." Is fun a value system or a belief?


We have leaders who seem far more concerned with keeping their seats of power than, well, leading. Therefore, the people, the citizens, of this country become neglected and ignored, unless of course it helps keep the leadership in power. Cities like Sderot are not defended, students aren't taught and the plight of the elderly is ignored. All this happens while Olmert has fun being the governor of the 51st state of America.


At the age of sixty, our country is in desperate need of seniority, leaders who demonstrate the character described in Pirkei Avot - wise and able to give counsel. Our seniors deserve better. Israel deserves better.