Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., July 28, 2008 Tamuz 25, 5768 | | Israel Time: 09:19 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

A Tunisian-born couple living in Moshav Alma, in the Galilee. (Alex Levac) Last update - 20:12 10/02/2008 Tunisian-born Israelis win state compensation for Holocaust suffering By The Associated Press Tags: Israel, Tunisia, Holocaust  Tunisian-born Israeli Jews who suffered under World War II Nazi occupation have won a five-year battle to be recognized as eligible for the same government stipends paid to survivors of the Holocaust of European Jewry, according to a court document obtained Sunday. David Etzion, an attorney acting for 19 claimants, said the ruling meant that approximately 20,000 Tunisian Jews who immigrated to Israel are fully entitled to claim the monthly benefits, which average about $330. German troops occupied Tunisia in November 1942. According to Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, around 5,000 local Jews were rounded up and subjected to forced labor, and 20 Jewish activists were sent to their deaths in the extermination camps of Europe before allied forces arrived in May 1943. Advertisement During the six months of Nazi rule in Tunisia, Jews were forced to wear yellow stars on their clothing, many had their property seized and community leaders were arrested, according to Yad Vashem's Web site. Of around 100,000 Jews in Tunisia at the time of the Nazi occupation the vast majority had emigrated by the 1960s, mainly to Israel and to former colonial ruler France. Figures published by the Jewish Agency show that about 1,500 Jews remain in Tunisia. Many of those who moved to Israel left everything behind, Etzion said, but despite their hardships the Israeli government said they did not qualify for payments from a fund set up from German reparations for Nazi victims, as they had been Tunisian subjects during the occupation and had not been displaced from their homelands. A copy of the court ruling obtained by The Associated Press Sunday rejected that argument, however, noting that the Jews of Tunisia were only granted citizenship of that country after its independence from France in 1956. "No justification was found for denying the eligibility of the Jews of Tunisia for compensation," the document read. Etzion said the claimants would not be able to file retroactive demands but would seek payment of the benefits dating from the court ruling last Monday. "For more than five years our Finance Ministry has rejected claims by the Jews of Tunisia," he said. "Now the Finance Ministry has to pay." A ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the court ruling and had no immediate comment on the issue. Related articles: Tunisian becomes first Arab nominated as 'righteous gentile' Vandals trample flowers at Holocaust memorial in Berlin Britain to fund high school trips of understanding to Auschwitz More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   West Bank drought Palestinian Water Authority calls on Israel to rethink its water policies. Death of an artist Egyptian filmmaker's controversial work earned him international recognition.   1.   Extend the argument a bit 20:15  |  Colin Wright 10/02/08   2.   Colin: Extend It More 00:34  |  Brad 11/02/08   3.   TUNISIAN JEWS 12:44  |  STEWART 11/02/08   4.   Go #1 & #2 08:28  |  KeepingItRealJew 28/07/08

Read & React Tensions high in Gaza as Hamas cracks down on rival groups Responses: 240 Israeli troops kill Hamas man behind Dimona terror attack Responses: 124 IDF officers: Yeshiva teachers incite W. Bank teens to violence Responses: 100 Report: Rabbis slam removal, publication of note Obama left in Western Wall cracks Responses: 74 Aluf Benn: 'Hamastan' is prototyope for future Palestinian state Responses: 61 Rosner's Domain What American Jews believe (WTR) Barack Obama, the fashionable darling of the Israeli left The Lebanese are undercutting goodwill in Washington (WTR) Is Jimmy Carter 'tone-deaf' to Jewish sensibilities? (WTR) More Headlines 08:51 Israel finally agrees to move separation fence at Bil'in 08:59 Syria envoy to U.S.: Israel has chance for peace with all Arabs 08:55 Pentagon chief: War with Iran 'disastrous on number of levels' 02:54 Israel mulls acquiring U.S. anti-rocket system to protect Sderot 09:03 Rice presses Israel, PA to agree on document ahead of UN meet 07:22 Surf's up - but it's kosher! 09:16 Body of missing Israeli tourist found in Mekong river in Laos 07:17 Twin explosions in Istanbul kill 15 people and wound 154 others 04:52 Treasury to double university tuition for sought-after majors 05:44 El Al mistakenly flies 8-year-old to Brussels instead of Munich 06:47 Israel concerned leftists plan to send ship from Cyprus to break Gaza blockade 06:54 Why is the U.S. taxpayer funding the failure of American capitalism? Previous Editions Select Day 27 jul 25 jul 24 jul 23 jul 22 jul 21 jul 20 jul 18 jul 17 jul 16 jul 15 jul 14 jul

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