Survivors deserve more

Olmert’s decision to boost assistance to Holocaust survivors grossly inadequate
Yifat Solel

Let’s talk numbers. According to the recommendations submitted by the professional committee tasked with finding solutions to the distress of Holocaust survivors, more than NIS 2 billion (roughly $450 million) should have been earmarked in 2007 for stipends to Holocaust survivors not recognized in the past, as well as for the funding of a services package.

Yet Prime Minister Olmert’s “historic decision” offers them NIS 120 million that is, roughly 5 percent of the sum designated by the professional committee.

Yet even the committee recommendations would not have made Holocaust survivors in Israel wealthy – far from it. Two billion shekels are supposed to give Holocaust survivors who haven’t received a thing to this day a monthly NIS 1,040 allowance (roughly $250) and even this allowance will only be given to those who do not have any sources of income aside from their pension.

The inequity among Holocaust survivors in Israel has been in place for ages. To this day, recognized Holocaust survivors receive different allowances. If they are lucky enough to meet the criteria for a pension from Germany, they get about NIS 2,500 per month (roughly $600,) yet if they receive an allowance from the government of Israel, they only get about NIS 1,000 per month (roughly $225.) Many others are not even recognized as Holocaust survivors.

The only positive aspect in the prime minister’s announcement is the recognition of all those survivors who were not previously recognized. However, the required conclusions were missed out. Indeed, tens of thousands of additional Holocaust survivors will be recognized, but this recognition will give them almost nothing.

Knesset members must take initiative

It’s almost unnatural to praise bureaucratic officials, yet the committee headed by the Welfare Ministry director-general that looked into the question of Holocaust survivors did an efficient and serious job within a short timeframe. Its conclusions included the provision of an allowance to all Holocaust survivors whom the state of Israel refused to recognize up until now because, for example, they did not spend six months at concentration camps or could not prove the fact they were hiding in the woods – for some reason they had no documents to prove this.

In addition to the allowance, and no less important, the report includes recommendations on a services package, mostly comprising medical services and psychological treatments. However, according to the prime minister, a small allowance and a small addition to the fund for the welfare of Holocaust survivors is sufficient.

As the prime minister is not functioning properly, Knesset members are obligated to take the initiative. The inter-ministerial committee drafted a bill that would legislate Holocaust survivor's rights. Knesset members of all factions must adopt the professional committee’s proposal today and submit it as a private bill enjoying wall-to-wall support.

Only that way will they be able to force the government to act in accordance with its duty and to correct, to a small extent, the longtime injustice of Israeli governments towards Holocaust survivors.

Attorney Yifat Solel is the legal advisor of the Ken LaZaken non-profit organization for promoting the rights of the elderly in Israel in general, and Holocaust survivors in particular