Suha 42, a Palestinian Jerusalemite with the legal status of permanent resident, lives in the Old City and has been struggling with multiple sclerosis (MS) for years. In MS, the immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers, eventually damaging them permanently. MS is a debilitating, chronic, uncurable disease. It can cause numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes, and other symptoms. It also commonly relapses and remits, with quiet periods of disease remission that can last for months.

MS causes excruciating pain. Doctors instructed Suha not to exert herself, as stress, heat, and certain movements could trigger flare-ups.

But Suha hasn’t just been fighting her illness. She has also been waging a battle against Israel’s National Insurance Institute (NII) (Bituach Leumi), the agency responsible for providing disability benefits in Jerusalem (see Health and Health Care). While Suha already has health-care coverage, she needed and was entitled to additional disability benefits. This would provide her with income support if she met the criteria. It might also entitle her to additional benefits from Bezeq (Israel’s largest telecommunications company), the Israel Lands Administration (discount on purchase tax on residential apartment or land), the Water Authority (quantity of additional water per month at a low rate), health funds (e.g., exemption from paying into them and for some fees), the Ministry of Finance (e.g., reduction of income tax), the Ministry of Construction and Housing (assistance in paying rent), the Ministry of Transportation (e.g., reduced public transit fares and disabled parking tag allowing her to park in designated spots or in places where parking is not allowed), and local authorities (e.g., discount on property taxes).1

Suha applied months ago. She brought all sorts of medical documents, test results, and letters from neurologists confirming her diagnosis. She was awaiting the decision.

A few weeks later, Suha was sitting on the stone steps at Damascus Gate with a group of her friends, leaning on her cane, catching her breath.

Her phone rang.

“Hello, this is the National Insurance investigator. I’m at your house. You’re not home. Where are you?”

Her heart jumped. If she wasn’t home, they could claim she didn’t really live in Jerusalem. They could accuse her of lying, revoke her permanent-resident status for breaching the “center of life” policy, strip her of the disability support she desperately needed, and deport her from Jerusalem (see Precarious Status).

Panicked, she said, “No, no—I’m just around the corner with my friends. I’m coming now!”

Without thinking, Suha stood up and began walking home as fast as she could despite the stiffness in her legs. Her friends tried to stop her, but she was determined. The fear of losing her rights, of giving Israeli authorities an excuse to remove her from her home and city—this pushed her through the pain.

What Suha didn’t know was that the investigator wasn’t at her house at all. He was actually right behind her the whole time. Disguised in plain clothes, he had followed and filmed her as she hastily left the steps of the Damascus Gate and limped her way home in a panic.

A few days later, Suha received a report from the NII: “Claimant seen walking unaided. No visible signs of disability. Applicant deceives authorities.” They denied her application, claiming she was faking her illness, and that her limp was an act. This was a medically baseless conclusion, given that MS is very well established to be a chronic disease that can go into remission for long periods. This was not the case with Suha that day, but that is beside the point.

On top of the denial, the shock of being sandbagged and panic over all of the potential repercussions worsened Suha’s symptoms, causing a severe flare-up. For weeks, she was not able to walk at all.

Having been deceived by the NII investigator, Suha is left stranded without disability benefits. She can appeal the decision, but it will be a slow and time-consuming process with no guarantee of a successful outcome.