The Rise and Fall of Unemployment Insurance in Israel

The Israeli unemployment insurance (UI) programme was adopted in 1972 but, in the three decades since, it has undergone major changes. As a result of these changes, the programme is currently far less accessible and less generous than it was in its original form. This article documents the policy process that led to retrenchment of UI in Israel. This process was justified by a professed desire on the part of decision-makers to deal with the problem of the unemployment trap caused by UI and was facilitated by a legislative manoeuvre that enabled the State to overcome institutional obstacles to change within the Parliament.