One of the downsides of working as a reporter is the almost constant loss of innocence regarding individuals and organizations you once believed beyond reproach. Contrary to popular belief journalists are not born cynical. We get this way after being disappointed time and again by those from whom we expect more.

Not that I thought that every survivor was an angel, but I still had a naive belief that what these people had been through had instilled in them something else, a more exalted set of ideals and a noble attitude to life. I still believe that is true of many of them (besides, what right do I or anyone else have to hold them to a higher standard?), but still the last few weeks have been an eye-opener.

The levels of chicanery and back-stabbing between the various survivors' organizations over pensions and other delicate Holocaust money issues easily rival those of Israeli politics.