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Photo: Gil Yohanan
Archive Photo.
Photo: Gil Yohanan

Budget agreement reached on meals for Holocaust survivors

In December, the Prime Minister and Welfare Ministry promised transfers of millions of shekels to prevent the shuttering of soup kitchens that aid the elderly. But the sides only reached an agreement on Thursday, after some Holocaust survivors stopped receiving meals.

The Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Welfare, and the Claims Conference (which represents the interests of Holocaust survivors) announced on Thursday that they have reached a principle agreement regarding the transfer of millions of shekels to organizations that support soup kitchens which serve Holocaust survivors and other seniors in need with hot meals.

 

 

Despite this, the timetable for actually transferring the funds, which is meant to aid the organizations through 2018, is still unclear. The heads of leading welfare organizations warn that if an immediate solution isn't found, they will be short on food, unable to supply thousands of people.

 

Many soup kitchens could soon experience shortages. (Archive Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Many soup kitchens could soon experience shortages. (Archive Photo: Gil Yohanan)

 

In December, Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page, "I do not accept a reality in which there are hungry Holocaust survivors in Israel."

 

Over two months passed, and despite the PM's declarations, the budgetary transfer of just a few million shekels has yet to take place. The Claims Conference and Welfare Ministry have yet to meet and discuss the topic.

 

Minister of Welfare and Social Services Haim Katz. (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Minister of Welfare and Social Services Haim Katz. (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

 

The Ministry issued a statement after the Thursday meeting, "Minister Haim Katz approved the agreement reached by the Ministry along with the Claims Conference. According to the agreement, the Claims Conference will go on subsidizing the soup kitchens for the next three years with the sums that were given up to now, until the end of 2018. The communication between the support conference and the soup kitchens will remain as it is today, while finding an oversight mechanism that will preserve the dignity of Holocaust survivors."

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.05.16, 15:24
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