Last update - 00:00 15/08/2007
Comptroller: Treasury preventing funds from reaching Holocaust survivors
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
The Finance Ministry delayed and canceled financial support for institutions that assist Holocaust survivors, according to a special state comptroller's report on the state's treatment of survivors presented Wednesday.
The report found that funds that were designated for survivors were not used for that purpose, nor is the primary body charged with coordinating the activities of survivors' organizations funded at all. According to the report, the problem is a result of mismanagement in the Finance Ministry.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss further determined that survivors experience years of delays in processing their claims due to bureaucratic obstacles and the lack of adequate manpower.
According to the report, the process of locating and restoring property lost during the Holocaust to its rightful owners was delayed due to both bureaucracy and a lack of cooperation among the various groups holding the properties in Israel.
In 2006, the treasury's budget department was late in transferring NIS 21.6 to a foundation for survivors' welfare, eventually transferring the funds only at the end of the fiscal year.
The foundation is a central organization that directly aids survivors, providing them with caretaking solutions and assistance in medical emergencies.
Due to the fact that the foundation does not accept requests for assistance until it has the necessary funds, survivors only used roughly one-third of the budget, and some NIS 14 million that was intended for survivors was not used.
Had the funds been transferred on time, the foundation could have provided assistance to a much larger number of survivors. The failure to provide the funds in a timely manner especially harmed the foundations to provide personal grants for survivors in need of essential goods or services.
The Finance Ministry's policy also harmed the Centre of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel (COHSI). In accordance with the accountant-general's instructions, public institutions that receive government funds must limit their managerial expenditures to 22 percent of their annual cash flow.
Due to the fact that the COHSI functions primarily as a planning directorate and maintains contacts with groups in Israel and abroad, its managerial expenditures account for a high proportion of its costs.
The COHSI serves as the "long arm" of the state in terms of conducting negotiations on compensation for survivors. Nonetheless, the treasury has refused to be flexible regarding managerial expenditures, and since 2004 the COHSI has functioned without government support, paralyzing a significant proportion of its activity.