Needy Israeli Holocaust survivors of camps and ghettos will receive a government pension in the next two weeks.
The pension is for survivors who do not receive a monthly pension from any other source, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Claims Conference, which represents the Jewish people in negotiations with the German government, is helping the Prime Minister’s Office identify the neediest eligible survivors for the first group to receive the funds. The Claims Conference currently pays monthly pensions from a fund that gets its money from Germany to approximately 23,000 Israeli citizens.
The Israeli government has not yet arrived at an arrangement as to who will pay the new pensions.
The announcement comes on the heels of Monday’s establishment of a state commission of inquiry to investigate the government’s handling of aid to Holocaust survivors in Israel.
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