In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Israel.
What began as a health crisis soon turned into an economic crisis, which led many workers to go on forced unpaid leave and went to the National Insurance Institute (NII) for assistance. There was a need to find creative solutions within the limits of the law and the data available to the NII, and to find workable and quick solutions that would allow the payment of unemployment benefits to unpaid workers.
The NII’s response to the new reality was to promote legislative initiatives, policy changes and implement organizational adjustments relevant to the crisis, in favor of optimal care for insured people. Simulations showed that the incidence of poverty, as well as its depth and severity, decreased as a result of the assistance provided by the State.