One of the main issues in the crisis involving stipends for Holocaust survivors is the exact definition of a survivor, and who is entitled to a stipend. Social Affairs Ministry Director General Nahum Itzkovich headed the interministerial committee that submitted a report to the cabinet on the issue, and was also involved in negotiations between the government and the survivors organizations over the past two weeks. Here, he answers questions about the definitions.

Q: Who is defined as a survivor of the "first circle" and will be entitled to a government stipend?

A: Those who lived under the Nazis or their allies and whose life was at risk, those who were in concentration camps, extermination camps, ghettos or in hiding at risk of their lives are defined as being in "the first circle."