'Survivors must not fight among themselves'
Shoah survivors from former Soviet Union outraged by government's decision to only increase monthly allowance of death camp survivors: 'We may not have been in a ghetto, but we went through the same Holocaust'
"The government does not seem to understand that these people lost everything. The survivors mustn't fight amongst themselves, but the government's actions cause exactly that," Gregory Pagis, head of the organizations representing Holocaust survivors from the former Soviet Union, which represents about 85,000 survivors, told Ynet on Sunday night.
Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with representatives of the Holocaust survivors' organizations, as both side were able to reach a compromise regarding the social security benefits paid to the survivors.
According to the agreement, death camp survivors will receive an additional NIS 1,200 ($285) a month in benefits, while Holocaust survivors who were not in the camps – some 150,000 people – will wait for Olmert's comprehensive elderly relief program, which is slated to take care of Israel's elderly population in general.
Pagis told Ynet he has received thousands of letters from Holocaust survivors asking for his help and that he intended on presenting them to the prime minister.
"The government's agreement spans those who came to Israel in the 1950s, but for some reason the hardships of those who came to Israel in the 1970s have been overlooked...
"We're talking about ten of thousands of people who've lost their family, all their worldly passions and now they can't even afford medications," said Pagis.
'Government finally understood who we are'
Lev Kaplan, 73, was only seven when the war started and lost his entire family apart from his brother. He came to Israel from Russia in 1995, and has been living on a NIS 1,980 ($468) social security allowance ever since."We may not have been in a ghetto, but we survived the Holocaust just the same and faced death dozens of times… the government's decision is simply unfair. Our suffering was just as great as that of those who were in the camps," he told Ynet.
Nahum Karpilevitz, who was eight when World War II broke out, survived the ghetto and was made eligible for the increased benefits.
"After our long fight we finally accomplished something that might help us," he said. "The government finally understood who we are."
