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U.S. Holocaust survivors: Pres. should address needs
By Cnaan Liphshiz

U.S. President Barack Obama should pay greater heed to the plight of Holocaust survivors living in poverty in the United States, American survivors said ahead of Obama's visit today to the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.

"Far too many U.S. Holocaust survivors cannot afford nutrition, shelter, glasses, dental care and other necessities," read a statement by the Holocaust Survivors' Foundation - USA.
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The statement also mentioned the upcoming international conference in Prague on Holocaust-era assets.

"As the world's only superpower, the U.S. could persuade countries like Poland and Ukraine to compensate Jews for untold amounts of Jewish property that these countries appropriated," Jack Rubin of the foundation's executive committee told Haaretz. But "instead of taking care of the problem, Obama's going around making speeches in Cairo and Buchenwald."

East European countries maintain that if there are no direct heirs, property that belonged to murdered Jews should go to their own treasuries. Jewish organizations and Israeli delegates claim the money should go toward Jewish causes, including welfare for survivors.

"Given Obama's general direction of more openness, transparency and commitment to individual and civil rights, survivors were hoping for a more hospitable reception from the president," said Samuel Dubbin, the foundation's attorney.

But so far, he said there has been no response from either the White House, the attorney general or the secretary of state to survivors' letters on the subject of welfare and restitution. "This has been very disappointing for the survivors," he said.

The U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv had not replied to Haaretz's query on the matter by press time.

Dubbin said the administration of Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, was downright "hostile" to survivors' rights: "In eight years, it never lifted a finger to address the overarching problem of survivor poverty and need." Hence hopes were high for Obama.

"In the first few months [after the change of power], we certainly understood there were delays in staffing the departments," Dubbin continued. "However, to have no response at all is very troubling, because at this point the Obama Administration is indistinguishable on survivors' rights from the Bush Administration."

According to data from 2004, the U.S. has some 170,000 Holocaust survivors, of whom 25 percent live at or below the official poverty level.
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