Olmert eyes welfare of survivors

Ehud Olmert said Israel must ensure the welfare of Holocaust
survivors.”Our honoring of the memory is in no way separate from our concern
for the remaining survivors,” the prime minister told his Cabinet on Sunday,
the eve of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day in Israel. “A few
thousand still live who carry with them the personal memory and the pain.
Our responsibility is to ensure that those who underwent the Holocaust see
out their lives in Israel with the appropriate dignity.” Of some 250,000
Holocaust survivors in Israel, 80,000 live
below the poverty line, Yediot Achronot reported. Labor lawmaker Colette
Avital, who heads a Knesset lobby for Holocaust survivors, has demanded that
Olmert hold a government-level discussion on ways of boosting state aid to
survivors.