Commission slams government treatment of Holocaust survivors

Dorner Commission recommends State grant survivors not entitled to German reparations at least 75% of stipends received by those who are. State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss pledges to make issue a top priority

Amnon Meranda|Published: 06.22.08 , 18:46

It is better late than never. The state commission of inquiry into the governments' treatment of Holocaust survivors, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Dahlia Dorner recommended in the report it submitted to State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss that the State fund at least 75% of the pension granted to survivors who are not entitled to reparations from Germany because they immigrated to Israel before the agreement’s signing.

Dorner reported that there are 45,000 survivors who receive a reduced pension and that the committee does not suggest making it comparable to the German pension because it will be a heavy burden on the treasury.

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“The committee believes that the country needs to try and lessen the wide-scaled impingement on the Holocaust survivors’ property rights. These survivors were blocked from filing a suite according to the German reparations law due to Israel’s renouncement within the reparations agreement,” said the report.

Dorner said that “Israeli governments throughout the years did not contend with Holocaust survivors,” and that just the mere fact that the committee was created 60 years after the country’s establishment is a sad state of affairs.

The chairwoman of the committee added that the state committed a crime against the survivors. “A committee like this should have never been created; treatment of Holocaust survivors should have been obvious.”

‘Report shouldn’t gather dust’

The retired judge reviewed additional recommendations decided upon by the committee. “We suggested including changes in medical treatment and the bureaucratic processes in the medical committees. We proposed creating an information center for survivors, informing them of their rights.

"We also concluded that each survivor should be contacted in order to ensure they know their rights. We hope that this report will not gather dust and that they will listen to our recommendations.”

The committee’s recommendations were presented on Sunday, half a year after its creation. As a result of the survivors’ ages and conditions, proving that some of them are having difficulty surviving, the committee worked very quickly.

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said that the committee’s decision will receive high priority in his office. According to him, “this is not only a legal injustice, it is also a humane and public injustice.”

Knesset member Sara Marom-Shalev said, “As a Holocaust survivor I could not imagine that the report would be prepared so quickly. I hope the work done by Dorner will be implemented after 60 years of suffering endured by Holocaust survivors.”