Some 8,000 Romanian Jewish Holocaust survivors will officially be recognized by the German government, in a move that will see Berlin pay them a monthly stipend of some €100 to €200 ($113 to $225).
The German government will also make retroactive payments, to cover the last 20 years, so that every survivor is set to receive a total sum of anywhere between 96,000 to 192,000 shekels ($27,000 to $54,300), in addition to the pension they will receive from this point forward. As a result, Berlin is expected to pay the survivors around a 1.5 billion shekels ($420 million) in reparations.
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The survivors in question are Jews who lived in 20 cities around Romania and were either directly or indirectly impacted by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu's collaboration with the Nazi regime, or the Nazis themselves following Antonescu's removal from power.
Heirs to Romanian Holocaust survivors born after 1910 and died after June 1, 2002 will also be eligible to sue for reparations from the German government.
In addition, the 8,000 survivors will receive a monthly 2,000 shekel ($566) stipend from the Finance Ministry's Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority. To be eligible for the stipend, survivors must have lived or been deported from the cities of Iași, Galați, Piatra Neamț, Constanța, Ștefănești, and Bacău, among others, during the Holocaust.
The agreement was reached following intense negotiations over 10 months between Jerusalem and Berlin. The Israeli claim, which has now been recognized as justified by the German government was based on extensive research led and carried out by the Social Equality Ministry.
Led by Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel and Ministry Director General Avi Cohen-Scali. Among those who took part in the talks were officials from the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum and the Foreign Ministry.
Gamliel said, "This is a day of historic justice, which comes after 10 months of very intensive negotiations. The financial compensation will not bring back those we have lost and cannot make up for the pain and the tragedy. But it does have the ability to significantly improve the well-being of thousands of survivors' lives.
"We will continue to act toward Germany's recognition of the eligibility of thousands of additional survivors who have yet to be recognized, whether they are from Romania or other countries.
She said, "The Israeli government has an obligation and responsibility toward Holocaust survivors, their welfare, and the justice they deserve. As social equality minister and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I am proud to have the privilege to lead, together with the Foreign Ministry and the Claims Conference [the Conference on Material Claims against Germany], the diplomatic efforts on this important subject. And I am hopeful and confident that we will reach further achievements."
