To Whom it may Concern re: Problem of housing for the handicapded. In the past few years, I have participated in the struggle of the handicapped in Israel – a struggle, which, as is known, is also covered by the foreign media. One of the issues for which there is no current solution for the handicapped in the State of Israel is housing. We, the organizations of the handicapped, which are fighting for the right of the handicapped to live in the community, have taken every means possible, from demonstrations to approaching every possible party in Israel, which for years has done nothing, except to redirect our inquiries from one authority to another. I am searching for foreign parties, which can influence in some way the decision-makers in Israel so that they will begin tackling our serious housing problems with greater seriousness. We are also open to offers of cooperation with similar struggles underway elsewhere in the world. Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini 115 Costa Rica St., Entrance A, Apt. 4, Kiryat Menachem, Jerusalem 9662592 Telephone: home: +972-2-6427757 Mobile: +972-52-457172 Fax: +972-77-2700076 P.S. 1) Below are some explanations/details about the housing condition of the handicapped. a. Problem of financing/paying rent – many years ago, (and it is not clear by whom, but apparently some government official) it was decided that handicapped persons living in the community were eligible for NIS 770 per month to pay rent. As is known, home prices have soared in Israel in recent years, naturally pulling up rent as well. But the figure of NIS 770, completely arbitrarily set many years ago without any explanation or logic, has not been updated.

Regrettably, even after extensive correspondence (thousands or even tens of thousands of letters, and to the regret of this author, these figures are no exaggeration), sent to every possible party – various desks at the Ministry of Housing and Construction, other ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office, numerous journalists, many of whom this author has spoken with personally, numerous attorneys, and even investigation firms and the embassies of foreign countries – nothing has helped. The result is that the amount of aid has not been updated and many handicapped are ejected to the streets to die there of hunger, thirst, or cold in winter or heat stroke and dehydration in summer.

It should be noted that rights organizations, such as Yedid: The Association for Community Empowerment and universities and colleges’ legal aid clinics with which this author corresponds, are never able to help, for a simple reason: the amount of aid of NIS 770 is prescribed by law, and rights organizations can help pursuant to current law. The only address where there is a need for legislative amendments is the Knesset. But matters only get more complicated: as is known, for a long time (these lines were written on Friday, 17 January 2020) Israel has been in one election campaign after another, and even the third elections, scheduled for six weeks hence, will not necessarily herald the establishment of a functioning government. It should be noted that even when the Knesset and government responded to the inquiries of this author and the handicapped organizations and many others in the matter of the aid, Members of Knesset automatically directed the inquiries to the rights organizations, even though the Members of Knesset are fully aware that, in this case, the organizations are not the address; they themselves are. b. Communications with apartment owners: there are many cases in which the handicapped struggle to negotiate with apartment owners, because of their disability or illness. Under these circumstances, social workers must serve as mediators, and most social workers cannot really assume this role in every case. Moreover, deep cuts in recent years in the number of social worker positions, together with difficult work conditions, low pay, frequent improper treatment on the part of the patients’ families – who often unjustifiably consider the social workers as responsible for the faulty care their relatives receive – combined with the impossible workload that sometimes forces them to neglect urgent or hazardous cases, add to the difficulties of the handicapped in finding a suitable apartment and for the social worker to help him. c. Patients’ means of payment – there are cases in which a person moves to live in the community after a long period in hospital and lacks the normal habits of life, such as going to work or taking responsibility for managing his life. Frequently, the conditions for signing a lease, such as a guarantee check, are unattainable for people in this stage of their lives. Previous treatment and rehabilitation structures (one of which this author used 25 years ago when he was discharged from hospital to an assisted living facility) have been closed or have slashed their operations in recent years, thereby preventing rehabilitation by people in this stage of their lives, who cannot make progress without these critical treatment and rehabilitation structures. d. Regulatory problems – currently, there is a complete imbalance with respect to rights and duties of apartment owners on the one hand and lessees on the other hand. Many laws protect apartment owners against possible abuse of the lease period on the part of the lessees; conversely, there are no laws to protect tenants against abuse by the apartment owners. Consequently, leases include many scandalous, draconian, and sometimes even illegal clauses, and there are no laws to protect the lessees, who are compelled to sign the leases. In many cases, lessees have no legal right to object to the harmful clauses that they must sign as a condition for renting the property, and they are utterly exposed to the capriciousness of the apartment owners, sometimes even during the lease period. This is obviously a problem for the general population, but thought should be given it is naturally more difficulty for disadvantaged groups, such as the handicapped or sick to deal with apartment owners under these circumstances. e. Difficulties in explanations – there are substantial difficulties with respect to the difficulties raised and their disclosure in the public arena for the purpose of making the necessary amendments. The current priorities of the various media, which are not interested in the subject, division between the handicapped organizations, disinterest of a great many parties in the society in which we live to take an active role in efforts to correct and improve the situation weigh and greatly hinder the efforts to raise public awareness about these problems in a way that will force Members of Knesset to amend the laws rather than to continue ignoring them and do nothing. There is another difficulty with respect to launching an advertising campaign: handicapped people living on a disability pension cannot pay the huge sums advertising agencies demand for managing a campaign to deal with this issue, and the great many efforts by this author to bypass this obstacle by joining a student advertising project have not helped, because the students have shown no interest and considered the issue to be important. 2) My I.D. no.: 02947403 3) My emails: 02947403@walla.co.il or abs783a@gmail.com or assaf197254@yahoo.co.il or ass.benyamini@yandex.com or a32assaf@outlook.com 4) My caregiving organization: Reuth – Avivit Hostel 6 Ha’avivit St. Kiryat Menachem, Jerusalem 96508 Hostel office telephone no.: +972-2-6432551 or +972-2-5428351 Hostel email: avivit6@barak.net.il 5) At a meeting with the Avivit Hostel social worker at 13:30 on 12 December 2017, I was explicitly forbidden to disclose any of her particulars and/or other employees of Avivit Hostel or of Reuth. 6) My family doctor: Dr. Michael Halav Clalit Healthcare Services, Ir Ganim branch 63 Borochov St. Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem 9678150 Clinic telephone no.: +972-2-6440777, fax: +972-2-6438217 7) The regular medication which I take: a) Psychiatric drug Seroquel, 300 mg every evening b) Tegretol CR, 400 mg twice a day in the morning and evening c) Effexor, 150 mg twice a day in the morning and evening d) Simvastatin, 10 mg every evening 8) Below is a brief explanation of angry bowel syndrome, from which I suffer: To: Re: Treatment with PegLax To Whom it may Concern, For many years, I have suffered from various physical and mental medical conditions. One of the physical illnesses from I suffer is called angry bowel syndrome, an illness the main characteristic of which in my case are extreme changes in appetite, nausea, which sometime prevents me from drinking sufficient quantities of water (resulting in me suffering from a number of dehydration events that sent me to the hospital emergency room), difficulty in bowel movements and subsequent pain. After consulting with specialists, it turned out that the issue was a chronic and incurable illness. However, there is a medication, PegLax, which in combination with the right nutrition can greatly alleviate the symptoms. PegLax is not included in the basket of healthcare services, and in view of my financial distress, I cannot take it regularly. In your opinion, is there a solution to a problem of this kind? Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini PS I have an opinion from a dietician, Liron Ledenheim, who examined me on 27 March 2007 at Kiryat Moshe branch of Clalit Healthcare Services in Jerusalem, where I resided at the time under the monitoring of my family doctor, Dr. Yehudit Saadon. 9) Below is a list of my medical problems: a) Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and Schizoaffective disorder b) Psoriatic arthritis c) Neurological problem of an uncertain definition. Its main symptoms are losing my grip on objects without noticing, dizziness, loss of sense in the back of my hands, and balance and stability problems d) Chronic disk dislocation between the 4th and 5th spinal vertebrae, which affects my legs and hinders walking e) Angry bowel syndrome f) Early symptoms of a cardiology problem since last month (I am writing this on Thursday, 22 March 2018). At this time, the substance of the problem is unclear. It is expressed in chest pains during most of the day, difficulty in breathing, and speech. 10) Below is the start of a letter, written on Tuesday, 6 August 2019, that I am sending to various destinations: To: Re: Medical Services To Whom it may Concern, I, Assaf Benyamini, aged 46, residing in a rental apartment in the Kiryat Menachem neighborhood of Jerusalem, suffer from various physical and mental medical conditions. As a person suffering from chronic illnesses, I must periodically visit a family doctor if and when any of the problems emerges. Regrettably, there is always an infuriating reality: when I go to the family doctor, I am not allowed to raise medical problems if and when it is necessary, because of the long time that the doctor has to devote for telephone calls on matter unrelated to me. Consequently, when the doctor gives medical recommendations, he is distracted, and gives recommendations that have a high probability of being incorrect and based on partial or very superficial information. As a chronic patient, this reality is intolerable for me, and my many years experience with the healthcare organization, which is ostensibly supposed to treat me, I have learned that the situation is worsening and will apparently not receive any medical response, however serious or dangerous the condition may be. I ask you: what, in your opinion, can be done about this> Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini PS I am not considering switching doctors or healthcare organizations. Experience has shown me that the situation at other doctors is no different from what I am describing here, and switching to another healthcare organization will result in nothing other than losing my nursing insurance rights (Clalit Mushlam, which I joined in 1998), because it is not possible to transfer the insurance seniority in such a case, and everything that I have paid since 1998 will be lost and not taking into account. 11) Below is my correspondent with a social worker from Reuth in late January 2020: 25.1.2020 Dear Ms. Tal Lotan, re: Apartment at 115 Costa Rica St. I wish to notify you that the blinds in the living room are stuck and cannot be moved. Is it possible for a member of the hostel staff to fix it? (I do not know how to fix this or if I have to call the apartment owner to do so). What do you think? Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini, resident at the Avivit assisted living hostel PS I recently sent you the attached letter by regular mail via Israel Postal Company. I would appreciate it if you could respond to the question I raised in it.

12..1.2020 Dear Ms. Tal Lotan, re: Lease period The lease to my apartment expires on 14 July 2020. I believe that there is room to consider asking the apartment owner to clarify whether she agrees to extend the lease. I note that I wish to continuing living in the apartment, but if the apartment owner does not want to extend the lease, I must prepare accordingly and start looking for another apartment. Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini, resident at the Avivit assisted living hostel PS My I.D. no.: 029547403

My letter to the social worker Tal Lotan 10 Yahoo/incoming mail Assaf Benyamini 15 January at 15:50 by + 6 Tal Assaf Benyamini I do not understand. When do you intend to ask the apartment owner the question? WHEN? It is not possible understand from the answer “Three months in advance is the common practice” when you intend to ask her this question. (I prefer as soon as possible, because, in contrast to previous occasions when I moved, this time my health is worse and I cannot personally pack my belongings. If I have to move apartments, this time, it will be much harder for me physically, and the whole process will therefore take much longer. However, it would be much easier emotionally. I therefore ask again, if my remarks were not understood: when do you intend to ask the apartment owner on this matter? Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini, resident at the Avivit assisted living hostel

Sunday, 26 January 2020, GMT+2 10:46:27 TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com wrote 26 January 12:28 · TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com To: Assaf Benyamini 26 January at 14:09 We will contact you next month. Just take into account that, under the contract, you or she may give three months advance notice.

On Sunday, 26 January 2020, at 12:29 from Assaf Benyamini assaf197254@yahoo.co.il Show the original message Assaf Benyamini assaf197254@yahoo.co.il To: Tal Lotan 26 January 2020, at 14:13 Okay. Thank you. On Sunday, 26 January 2020, at 14:09:58 GMT+2 TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com wrote Hide original message We will contact you next month. Just take into account that, under the contract, you or she may give three months advance notice. On Sunday, 26 January 2020, at 12:29 from Assaf Benyamini assaf197254@yahoo.co.il I do not understand. When do you intend to ask the apartment owner the question? WHEN? It is not possible understand from the answer “Three months in advance is the common practice” when you intend to ask her this question. (I prefer as soon as possible, because, in contrast to previous occasions when I moved, this time my health is worse and I cannot personally pack my belongings. If I have to move apartments, this time, it will be much harder for me physically, and the whole process will therefore take much longer. However, it would be much easier emotionally. I therefore ask again, if my remarks were not understood: when do you intend to ask the apartment owner on this matter? Sincerely, Assaf Benyamini, resident at the Avivit assisted living hostel

On Sunday, 26 January 2020, at 14:09:58 GMT+2 TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com wrote Hi, it is customary to give three months prior notice, but it is also possible sooner.

Saturday, 25 January 2020 at 20:00 from Assaf Benyamini assaf197254@yahoo.co.il I understand, but when do you intend to ask this question? Saturday, 25 January 2020, at 19:46:52 GMT+2 TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com wrote It is too soon, even if you say that, hypothetically, you want to extend, but she is obliged. In short, it’s too soon. Saturday, 25 January 2020 at 19:07 from Assaf Benyamini assaf197254@yahoo.co.il — Message sent —- From: Assaf Benyamini assaf197254@yahoo.co.il To: TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com Sent on: Saturday, Saturday, 25 January 2020, at 16:31:35 GMT+2 Re: My letter to the social worker, Tal Lotan Fine. What is your opinion about the second question I asked (asking the apartment owner if she intends to renew the lease or not)? Naturally, if the apartment owners does not agree to renew the lease after 14 July 2020, I will have to find another residential solution (and this time, packing my personal belongings will take much longer because of my worsening health, which will not allow to pack by myself). Assaf Benyamini Saturday, 25 January 2020, at 16:22:17 GMT+2 TAL LOTAN talotan39@gmail.com wrote Hi Assaf. With respect to the blinds, I’ll ask Baruch to take a look, and if it’s a bigger malfunction, I’ll contact Sigalit.

12) Additional personal particular: Age: 47 Family status: single Date of birth: 11 November 1972