Labor Courts Criticize Freezing of Benefits for Children with Autism Without Evidence

Why the Payments Were Frozen

In December 2025, the National Insurance Institute sent notices to parents, followed by letters announcing the termination of disabled child benefits due to allegedly incorrect information. The Institute claims that 400 cases are involved, while sources familiar with the matter estimate that the number of affected children is in the thousands. The total amount of suspended payments is estimated at tens of millions of shekels per month.

What the Labor Courts Ruled

Since December, dozens of cases have been filed with the regional labor courts, and payments have already been restored for dozens of children. In one case, Judge Daniel Goldberg of the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court ruled that the National Insurance Institute was not entitled to apply Regulation 17 of the National Insurance Regulations because it did not present the evidence on which the decision was based. In the court’s view, it should have acted under Regulation 7, which governs the disabled child benefit: notify the family, request evidence, and only after reviewing it decide whether to terminate the payments.

Lists and Internal Directives

According to the report, the National Insurance Institute maintains a list of diagnosticians whose documents raised suspicions and applies an internal directive called “Red Flags.” In August, Judge Tal Golan of the Haifa Regional Labor Court confirmed the directive’s existence for the first time, after reviewing it ex parte in July. The families’ attorneys argue that, in practice, opinions from institutions and National Insurance Institute experts began to receive preference, even though the official circulars do not establish a general preference for institutional diagnoses over private diagnoses.

The Authorities’ Position

The National Insurance Institute denies the existence of a “blacklist,” but confirms that there is a list of diagnosticians about whom suspicions have arisen; it was transferred to the Ministry of Health. The Institute also stated that after the freeze, families could submit new documents for review, and that the “Red Flags” directive is internal and protected by confidentiality requirements. The Ministry of Health stated that suspicions of offenses are referred to law enforcement authorities, while issues of professional integrity may be examined by the authorized ethics bodies.

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