Holocaust survivors have not received their quarterly allowance due to a battle between the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims’ Assets and the Jewish Colonial Trust. ‘I’m missing medication, I’m afraid of the heating going out and in winter I sit in a coat,’ says one survivor.
A disagreement between two bodies – the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims’ Assets (the Company for Restitution of Assets) and the Jewish Colonial Trust (JCT) – is being waged on the backs of Holocaust survivors.
Around 11,000 survivors have not received their quarterly stipend of NIS 2,750 from the Company for Restitution of Assets because of the dispute with the JCT, which has now been brought to the Tel Aviv District Court.
Representatives from the Company for Restitution of Assets said that they are no longer able to meet the target for aiding Holocaust survivors as set out by law.
The reason for this is, according to them, the financial dispute with the JCT, which sits under the World Zionist Organization. The JCT is allegedly refusing to distribute to shareholders the shares on which the budget for Holocaust survivors relies.
About two weeks ago, the company notified survivors that after a continuing dispute it is stopping the transfer of funds entirely.
Iulius Meir Braun, a 78-year-old survivor, recently received such a letter.
“I tried to explain that I need every shekel,” says Braun, who lives alone. “But there was no response.” In the absence of the right to a pension, Braun receives funds from the Ministry of Finance and the German government.
“Thousands of Holocaust survivors are lacking everything because of a legal disagreement between the two bodies that are taking care of them,” MK Itzik Shmuli, chairman of the Knesset Lobby for Pensioners, told Ynet.
“They just told them that there is no money this year and they are in total anxiety as a result,” Shmuli continued. “The government of Israel should put its hand in its pocket and pay them. Indeed, the finance minister, Moshe Kahalon, said that there is spare cash in the government’s account.
“Who is more important than Holocaust survivors?” Shmuli added. “I intend to set up an urgent debate in the Knesset’s Finance Committee and to fight this there.”
MK Merav Michaeli, in a letter requesting a Knesset debate on the issue, wrote: “This is an unacceptable situation and a solution must be found immediately.”
Meir Braun is not impressed by the legal wrangling. “Maybe there’s a dispute but we’re not supposed to be paying the price,” he says. “My bank account is in debt and I’m always saving on expenses. I’m missing medications that don’t come as part of my healthcare package, I’m trying to save up to pay for my heating and in winter I sit in a coat.
“It’s easy to cut back on (funds for) Holocaust survivors,” Meir Braun continues. “There’s enough money but we have no voice to speak up for us.”
Elijah Geller is an 81-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives in Petah Tikva with his wife, also a survivor and who is blind.
“Instead of money, a letter arrived,” Geller says. “We need this money for shopping and basic outgoings. We’re modest people without special demands.”
Geller spent World War Two in the Transnistria ghetto in Ukraine. He is defined as severely disabled and suffers from health problems.
“This money helped us with our daily expenses; everything is getting more expensive and we need the finances, but I don’t have the strength to fight,” he says.
Commenting on the matter, the Company for Restitution of Assets says that “around 250 million NIS intended for Holocaust survivors is in the hands of the JCT and the World Zionist Organization.”
The company adds that after trying every route to receive the cash from the JCT, it finally took the matter to court in an attempt to get the funds released.
Meanwhile, the World Zionist Organization responded: “The Company for Restitution of Assets is tying its own hands, as it has the ability to transfer the funds but simply doesn’t want to. The administration is shocking and the attitude unforgivable.”
The treasurer of the JCT struck a similar tone, saying that the company already has the means to distribute funds to Holocaust survivors.
As reported by Ynetnews