JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the allocation of about $14 million to benefit Holocaust survivors and other elderly Israelis.
Hours before the start of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, Netanyahu also asked the Knesset to approve nearly $7 million in an additional allocation to pay for medicines to help the elderly population.
"We have a deep obligation to the elderly in general and to Holocaust survivors in particular, first of all to their welfare and also to their security," he said Sunday at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
In the last few days, several elderly Israelis, including some Holocaust survivors, have been the victims of high-profile violent attacks.
"These people survived the horrors of the Holocaust. They participated in Israel’s wars. They built the State of Israel; they are witnesses to our revival. Our obligation to them is that we will do all that is necessary," Netanyahu said. "We are giving today and we will add whatever is necessary."
Also Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid announced a plan to allocate about $110 million annually through 2017 to social welfare agencies that assist Holocaust survivors.
