More than 3,000 Arab mothers queued up outside the post office in East Jerusalem Sunday to receive the family allowances from the Israel National Insurance Institute originally instituted by former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to encourage Israeli Jews to have large families. The Israeli law makes no distinction as to citizens and since East Jerusalem has been incorporated into the municipality of Jerusalem, its residents are entitled to the “internal immigration” bonuses.
The allowances range from 35 pounds ($10) quarterly for a family with four children to 168 pounds ($48) for a family with seven children. For each child in excess of seven, the family receives an additional 52.50 pounds ($15). The bonus is in addition to cost-of-living allowances. East Jerusalem residents are also entitled to other Israeli welfare benefits including widow’s pension, birth allowances and old age pensions. The average number of children in the families receiving allowances in East Jerusalem on Sunday was six.
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