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Holocaust survivors from former USSR denied reparations By Anshel Pfeffer Some 11,000 Holocaust survivors who moved to Israel from the former Soviet Union are not receiving reparations from Germany because the Claims Conference, an international body that grants compensation to survivors, did not translate the payment request regulations into Russian, MK Michael Nudelman (Kadima) charged at a Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee meeting yesterday. Nudelman, the committee chairman, said that many Russian-speaking survivors were disqualified from receiving compensation because they filed their requests before they reached the designated age, but were unaware of the problem because they did not understand the regulations. Advertisement Reuven Merhav, who heads the Claims Conference's executive committee, acknowledged that it was a mistake not to have translated the regulations, but a conference representative said all the explanatory material has been available in Russian for more than a decade. Merhav also told the Knesset committee that the Claims Conference does not have the funds available to pay reparations to 11,000 additional Holocaust survivors. On Monday, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss was asked at a State Control Committee discussion of the Claims Conference's conduct to investigate the relationship between the Claims Conference and the government. However, MK Zevulun Orlev (National Union-National Religious Party) said that since the Claims Conference is officially registered in the United States, it is not under the state comptroller's supervision. At the meeting, Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan said that a small cadre within the Claims Conference was deciding how to distribute the payments, and the other executive committee members were rubber-stamping their decisions. Eitan said the conference was unwilling to review the number and location of living Holocaust survivors so as to reflect that most of them live in Israel. He added that the group was unwilling to discuss an end to its operations once the survivors die out. However, Eitan said he would not ask the German government to reconsider the role played by the Claims Conference. Three weeks ago, Judge Oded Mudrik ruled that the conference was negligent for failing to inform survivors who had fled to the Soviet Union that they were eligible to receive compensation, and ordered the conference to compensate 1,315 additional survivors. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fragile cease-fire Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived. Unbalanced stance Italy FM: EU stance on Israel in past swayed by intolerance.

Read & React Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may not last Responses: 318 ANALYSIS / Cease-fire deal means Hamas is calling the shots Responses: 88 Moshe Arens: Israel has nothing to fear from next U.S. administration Responses: 50 Olmert to French daily: Israel, Syria not far from direct talks Responses: 50 Editorial: Law to ban Arab MKs from visiting enemy states is an insulting PR ploy Responses: 66 More Headlines 22:05 Noam Shalit threatens to appeal Gaza truce in court 21:56 Olmert: Gaza cease-fire is fragile, may be short lived 23:29 Lebanon PM: There's no place for bilateral talks with Israel 22:48 Olmert to French daily: Israel, Syria not far from direct talks 23:49 Italy FM: EU stance on Israel in past swayed by intolerance of Jews 02:01 Eager yet untrusting, both sides of Gaza border await calm 21:38 World welcomes Gaza truce, urges sides to fulfill obligations 18:07 Families of missing soldiers briefed ahead of Hezbollah deal 21:13 Hezbollah supporters hurl stones at U.S. envoy's car in Lebanon 14:45 Shas MK: 300,000 Jews still in Ethiopia eligible for immigration 23:35 9 people killed in car accidents across Israel Wednesday 21:14 Latin America Jewish Congress honors Chilean President Previous Editions Select Day 18 jun 17 jun 16 jun 15 jun 13 jun 12 jun 11 jun 10 jun 09 jun 08 jun 06 jun 05 jun

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