The SLA soldiers are Christians who lived across the Lebanese border who were armed and trained by the IDF to take part in the fight against terrorist forces. The bill, proposed by Labor MK Yitzhak Herzog, was unanimously approved by the 46 MKs present.
The legislation calls for improved compensation for disabilities incurred by former SLA members. It upgrades the benefits they receive to those received by retired IDF soldiers and even offers them the option of full Israeli citizenship.
After the IDF’s hasty withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May, 2000 by then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, more than 7,000 Lebanese members of the SLA, along with their families, sought refuge in Israel. Since then, most have opted to return to Lebanon to stand trial and imprisonment for helping the Jewish State. About 2,500 remain in Israel.
The new proposal will grant SLA members injured while in service with the IDF in southern Lebanon the same benefits as disabled IDF soldiers. Until last year, each SLA family received 3,200 shekels a month in benefits, as well as full coverage of accommodation expenses and assistance with local taxes. Last year, the monthly benefits were reduced to 1,500 shekels a month, with housing still fully covered.
Colonel (res.) Tal Raz, who trained and fought alongside members of the SLA during Israel’s war in Lebanon, told Arutz-7, “They are in a dire situation. They truly are not able to return to their homes – members of Hezbollah are waiting for them with a promise of implementing the death penalty. We owe it to them to improve their condition – from the beginning we have not treated them in the manner which they deserve.”
Col. Raz stressed that it is a matter of returning a favor that was done for the State of Israel. “We are dealing with a population which we approached – living amongst them – who gave us great assistance in the struggle in southern Lebanon. Whoever was there and saw the relations between IDF soldiers and SLA soldiers knows that they deserve to be considered as retired IDF soldiers – they shared in our victories as well as our losses alongside us.”
The legislation calls for improved compensation for disabilities incurred by former SLA members. It upgrades the benefits they receive to those received by retired IDF soldiers and even offers them the option of full Israeli citizenship.
After the IDF’s hasty withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May, 2000 by then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, more than 7,000 Lebanese members of the SLA, along with their families, sought refuge in Israel. Since then, most have opted to return to Lebanon to stand trial and imprisonment for helping the Jewish State. About 2,500 remain in Israel.
The new proposal will grant SLA members injured while in service with the IDF in southern Lebanon the same benefits as disabled IDF soldiers. Until last year, each SLA family received 3,200 shekels a month in benefits, as well as full coverage of accommodation expenses and assistance with local taxes. Last year, the monthly benefits were reduced to 1,500 shekels a month, with housing still fully covered.
Colonel (res.) Tal Raz, who trained and fought alongside members of the SLA during Israel’s war in Lebanon, told Arutz-7, “They are in a dire situation. They truly are not able to return to their homes – members of Hezbollah are waiting for them with a promise of implementing the death penalty. We owe it to them to improve their condition – from the beginning we have not treated them in the manner which they deserve.”
Col. Raz stressed that it is a matter of returning a favor that was done for the State of Israel. “We are dealing with a population which we approached – living amongst them – who gave us great assistance in the struggle in southern Lebanon. Whoever was there and saw the relations between IDF soldiers and SLA soldiers knows that they deserve to be considered as retired IDF soldiers – they shared in our victories as well as our losses alongside us.”