January 27, 2020, marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau, heralding the end of World War II. We are fortunate to still have many Holocaust survivors still living among us, yet after the unspeakable horrors they endured and the overwhelming challenges they overcame to continue with the lives, the statistics bespeak a further injustice: About a quarter of survivors in Israel are living in poverty.
These now-elderly people, who experienced some of the worst traumas in modern times, are subsisting on so little they cannot afford both food and medicine, dental treatments, or house repairs. Many are childless; many are the last remnant of their extended families, with no support network to advocate for them in their twilight years.
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According to attorney Aviva Silberman, founder of Aviv for Holocaust Survivors, an organization that helps Holocaust survivors, free of charge, to apply for and receive benefits, thousands of survivors fail to take advantage of the compensation that's legally coming to them.
"There are several reparation payment or allowance programs but they simply are not aware of what they're entitled to, what forms to fill out, how to fill them out, or where to submit them," she said.
Silberman gives her take on the roots of this rampant poverty: "Due to their wartime experience, some survivors continued to suffer psychological and physical problems that hindered their ability to work. This pattern also carried over to the next generation."
Additionally, there was a time when many people opted not to accept money from Germany, irrespective of their financial situation, she explained.
"Today, however, survivors realize that they are not helping anyone by refusing the money and that at their stage of life, they certainly deserve to enjoy a higher standard of living."
Silberman has found that survivors are often fearful that by applying for additional benefits they will lose what they already have. In reality, however, about half of the survivors who have been assisted by Aviv were, in fact, eligible for more than they are currently receiving.
Rosa is a survivor who spent the war years undergoing torturous slave labor at a camp in Romania.
After she made aliyah in 1961, she worked at a menial job, earning minimum wage. She barely made ends meet and was never able to save up for a pension. To make matters worse, she had never been eligible for a survivors' stipend since she immigrated to Israel after 1953 – the year Israel signed a reparations agreement with Germany.
Last year, when a friend told her about the Aviv Entitlement Center, she was skeptical but she went anyway. After hearing her story, Aviv's attorney Hila Spiegel told her about a new Finance Ministry decision to provide stipends to those who arrived in Israel after 1953.
Rosa's application for financial assistance and the stipend were approved, and at 93, Rosa received her first monthly deposit of NIS 5,600 ($1,600).
"You worked so hard for me and didn't take any money. I never believed that at this age, I'd receive such a generous allowance! I always had to pinch every penny. Now I'll be able to afford the things I was never able to buy!" she said, thanking the center.
A visit to the Aviv Entitlement Center in Haifa also proved life-changing for Avraham, 80, from the northern Israeli community of Kiryat Yam. He was a young boy in the Jadu concentration camp in Libya. After the war, he immigrated to Israel but never asked for any Holocaust reparations.
"My memory from life in the camp is blurry," Avraham said. "What I do recall very clearly, though, is the crowding, the dirt, and the commotion. There were dozens of people living in one small room, in conditions that were a perfect breeding ground for disease and starvation. My experiences resulted in health problems that got worse over the years. I could never hold down a decent job, and was always very poor."
Recently, Avraham asked the center in his city for assistance. When he shared his difficult life's story with Aviv's attorney Noa Shein, she told him that he met all the criteria for a monthly stipend from the Finance Ministry, with additional; benefits due to low income. After filing he necessary forms, Avraham began receiving a monthly pension of NIS 6,000 ($1700).
"This changed my life," he said. "Finally, I can sleep at night, without having to worry about the future."
Aviv for Holocaust Survivors works to raise public awareness of the rights of Holocaust survivors. For more information visit www.avivshoa.co.il
