Last update - 00:00 15/10/2007
Olmert and Holocaust survivors' groups agree on pensions hike
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday met with representatives of Holocaust survivors' groups and agreed to raise government allowances and services to elderly people suffering from economic distress, some 80,000of whom are survivors.
The announcement followed criticism of the government for not doing enough to help the 240,000 Israelis who survived the Holocaust. Today, many of them are elderly and needy.
The increase stands at NIS 1.5 billion, NIS 500 million of which will be granted to "second circle" survivors - people who fled from areas under Nazi occupation but were not incarcerated in ghettoes and concentration camps.
Olmert also complied with the survivors' demand to transfer the sum over two years, and not three years as previously agreed.
The additional funds will be allocated according to age and financial conditions. Those 80 years old and above who do not own their home - predominantly Holocaust survivors - will be entitled to the highest increase.
Most of the "second circle" survivors are former Soviet citizens who have come to Israel over the last two decades. Many of them are very poor.
The new benefits follow a package announced in August for the first circle of survivors - those who survived the war under direct Nazi rule. Since August, needy survivors from the first circle were guaranteed allowances of $284 (200) a month, with the exact sum also linked to age and income.
Olmert said the new aid was an important moral step that would correct a grave oversight on Israel's part. "The state never gave those who survived the Holocaust the attention and resources it put into memorializing those who died in the Holocaust," Olmert said
The chairman of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors, Noah Flug, said last week: "We have gained about NIS 1.5 billion, and even though we believe Holocaust survivors deserve more, we thank the government for taking the matter so seriously."
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