Holocaust Survivors Blast $20 Stipend

Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
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From Yahoo!/AP:

JERUSALEM - An Israeli government offer of a new $20 monthly stipend for Holocaust survivors provoked outrage Tuesday, with survivors charging the meager allowance will do nothing to make up for years of neglect of the 240,000 Israelis who lived through Nazi horrors.

Survivors have long claimed that European countries treat them far better than Israel, where many elderly survivors live in poverty. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement of the new allowance did nothing to change that impression. One survivor called the offer "absurd and insulting."

* * *

Many survivors were outraged. "This doesn't solve anything," said survivor Avraham Roet, 79. "The government doesn't understand the significance of the Holocaust and what horrors the survivors went through. If they did, they wouldn't propose this absurd and insulting plan," he told The Associated Press.

The new payment is in addition to government support already given to survivors, including those deemed physically or psychologically handicapped, and regular pension payments of about $487 a month.

Survivors groups charged ? in what was meant to be an especially painful dig at the Israeli government ? that survivors are treated better in Germany.

"We know what the conditions of the Holocaust survivors are in Holland, France, Germany and Poland. They are much better than in Israel," Noah Frug, chairman of a consortium of Holocaust survivors' organizations and a survivor himself, told Israel Radio.

Hillary Kessler-Godin, spokeswoman for Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said Germany still pays monthly pensions to 80,000 survivors around the world, after starting in the 1950s.

"Each survivor's pension can be different depending on their persecution history," she told the AP. Other funds have paid out billions of dollars to various categories of Nazi victims.

Roet said the average stipend for survivors in Holland, where he was born, is between $2,740 and $4,110 a month.

* * *

What a strange story. I'm not sure what to make of it - obviously these people were freed, at a minimum, 62 years ago, but it does seem to me that Israel of all places should be highly motivated to give them a dignified existence, and a program that gives them $240 a year seems worse than useless.
 

ProfJohn

Lifer
Jul 28, 2006
18,161
7
0
I agree with Don, strange story.

Why is Israel responsible for them? Israel did not even exist at the time.

Now if Israel wants to support them out of charity then good for them.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
Originally posted by: ProfJohn
I agree with Don, strange story.

Why is Israel responsible for them? Israel did not even exist at the time.

Now if Israel wants to support them out of charity then good for them.

I agree.

Israel didn't do anything bad to these people.
 

UberNeuman

Lifer
Nov 4, 1999
16,937
3,087
126
Originally posted by: DonVito
From Yahoo!/AP:

JERUSALEM - An Israeli government offer of a new $20 monthly stipend for Holocaust survivors provoked outrage Tuesday, with survivors charging the meager allowance will do nothing to make up for years of neglect of the 240,000 Israelis who lived through Nazi horrors.

Survivors have long claimed that European countries treat them far better than Israel, where many elderly survivors live in poverty. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement of the new allowance did nothing to change that impression. One survivor called the offer "absurd and insulting."

* * *

Many survivors were outraged. "This doesn't solve anything," said survivor Avraham Roet, 79. "The government doesn't understand the significance of the Holocaust and what horrors the survivors went through. If they did, they wouldn't propose this absurd and insulting plan," he told The Associated Press.

The new payment is in addition to government support already given to survivors, including those deemed physically or psychologically handicapped, and regular pension payments of about $487 a month.

Survivors groups charged ? in what was meant to be an especially painful dig at the Israeli government ? that survivors are treated better in Germany.

"We know what the conditions of the Holocaust survivors are in Holland, France, Germany and Poland. They are much better than in Israel," Noah Frug, chairman of a consortium of Holocaust survivors' organizations and a survivor himself, told Israel Radio.

Hillary Kessler-Godin, spokeswoman for Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said Germany still pays monthly pensions to 80,000 survivors around the world, after starting in the 1950s.

"Each survivor's pension can be different depending on their persecution history," she told the AP. Other funds have paid out billions of dollars to various categories of Nazi victims.

Roet said the average stipend for survivors in Holland, where he was born, is between $2,740 and $4,110 a month.

* * *

What a strange story. I'm not sure what to make of it - obviously these people were freed, at a minimum, 62 years ago, but it does seem to me that Israel of all places should be highly motivated to give them a dignified existence, and a program that gives them $240 a year seems worse than useless.

Hmmmm... seems like there's something missing in this story - are the survivors also receiving funds from Germany? If that is the case, then it seems petty that they are seeking more...

Why would Israel be forced to give benefits on top of this - or any benefits at all?

 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
91
Originally posted by: UberNeuman
Originally posted by: DonVito
From Yahoo!/AP:

JERUSALEM - An Israeli government offer of a new $20 monthly stipend for Holocaust survivors provoked outrage Tuesday, with survivors charging the meager allowance will do nothing to make up for years of neglect of the 240,000 Israelis who lived through Nazi horrors.

Survivors have long claimed that European countries treat them far better than Israel, where many elderly survivors live in poverty. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement of the new allowance did nothing to change that impression. One survivor called the offer "absurd and insulting."

* * *

Many survivors were outraged. "This doesn't solve anything," said survivor Avraham Roet, 79. "The government doesn't understand the significance of the Holocaust and what horrors the survivors went through. If they did, they wouldn't propose this absurd and insulting plan," he told The Associated Press.

The new payment is in addition to government support already given to survivors, including those deemed physically or psychologically handicapped, and regular pension payments of about $487 a month.

Survivors groups charged ? in what was meant to be an especially painful dig at the Israeli government ? that survivors are treated better in Germany.

"We know what the conditions of the Holocaust survivors are in Holland, France, Germany and Poland. They are much better than in Israel," Noah Frug, chairman of a consortium of Holocaust survivors' organizations and a survivor himself, told Israel Radio.

Hillary Kessler-Godin, spokeswoman for Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said Germany still pays monthly pensions to 80,000 survivors around the world, after starting in the 1950s.

"Each survivor's pension can be different depending on their persecution history," she told the AP. Other funds have paid out billions of dollars to various categories of Nazi victims.

Roet said the average stipend for survivors in Holland, where he was born, is between $2,740 and $4,110 a month.

* * *

What a strange story. I'm not sure what to make of it - obviously these people were freed, at a minimum, 62 years ago, but it does seem to me that Israel of all places should be highly motivated to give them a dignified existence, and a program that gives them $240 a year seems worse than useless.

Hmmmm... seems like there's something missing in this story - are the survivors also receiving funds from Germany? If that is the case, then it seems petty that they are seeking more...

Why would Israel be forced to give benefits on top of this - or any benefits at all?

The story makes reference to the German government paying a pension to 80,000 survivors worldwide, but says there are 120K in Israel alone. Obviously not all of the Israeli survivors are receiving the German pension. Presumably the Israeli government is concerned about the poverty some of these people are living under or it wouldn't be implementing a pension at all.
 

Jhhnn

IN MEMORIAM
Nov 11, 1999
62,365
14,681
136
Gotta love it- anytime there's any criticism of the govt of Israel, her fanbois jump up screaming "Holocaust! and "Jew-Haters!" at the top of their lungs.

Israelis certainly aren't shy about claiming the holocaust as a raison de etre for the Jewish State, but somehow take a different attitude when it comes to taking care of those they claim as poster-children...

I'm surprised, Don Vito, that you seem to be accepting tokenism as some sort of genuine concern from the Israeli govt...
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,511
1,075
126

idgaf13

Senior member
Oct 31, 2000
453
0
0
Why should people not involved in the "Holocaust" be compensated at all ?
They should not.
The people who deserve the "restitution" are the people to whom those bank accounts belong.
The accounts should not be divided up like charity giving an equal share to all parties
That assumes that all parties had similar quantity of assetts and that those assetts were seized.
Return recovered assetts to the parties that they belong to ,if that is not possible then
said assetts would be most effectively used in defending their country and their Liberty.
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
1
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I don't want to downplay the importance of the holocaust; it was one of the most horrific acts in the history of human civilization. Nor do I mean to suggest that the survivors of the holocaust have not endured astounding levels of personal strife. However, at this point, I don't see how reparations make any sense. The holocaust ended with Hitler's death and the subsequent surrender of Germany. Though it took several months to liberate all the death camps, it pretty much ended in 1945. That was 62 years ago. At this point, even the youngest of the German participants in the holocaust (the soldiers, and even the Hitler youth) are either dead or retired (thus, not paying taxes). The reparation money is coming from people who were not responsible for the holocaust. It seems silly to enact this level of punitive damages when it is no longer affecting anyone who had anything to do with the original crime.

As to this gesture, it is the most patently absurd thing I've ever heard. You went through the holocaust, have an extra bottle of whiskey this month? $20.00 is nothing. I make that in an hour. If you offer me one extra hour's pay every month, I'm going to take it. But don't make it seem like a grandiose gesture.

Also, did anyone else find themselves surprised that there were still 240,000 survivors in Israel? I knew the holocaust was huge, but I had no idea that there were still 240,000 living survivors worldwide, let alone just in one country.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
173
106
Originally posted by: DonVito
What a strange story. I'm not sure what to make of it - snip-

Originally posted by: UberNeuman

Hmmmm... seems like there's something missing in this story - are the survivors also receiving funds from Germany? If that is the case, then it seems petty that they are seeking more...

Why would Israel be forced to give benefits on top of this - or any benefits at all?

Yeah, I agree with you guys. Strange indeed, and something's missing.

Fern
 

azazyel

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2000
5,872
1
81
Is anyone surprised, I mean they are jews.



/had to do it
//runs away.
 

envy me

Golden Member
Nov 5, 2005
1,000
0
0

how much money was given to native americans after their land was stolen?

how much money was given to blacks who experienced slavery?

... The government tries to provide something for their misfortunes but it isn't enough.

Maybe the US should increase the $30Billion it sends to Israel every year to make them happy?
 

Aimster

Lifer
Jan 5, 2003
16,129
2
0
Originally posted by: azazyel
Is anyone surprised, I mean they are jews.



/had to do it
//runs away.

Their attitude and behavior might make some talk about certain stereotypes (I know you were kidding), but one should also note that the Jews number 14 million control the Christians that number in the billions.

I had to do that too
:p