Ehud Olmert denounced recent protests by some Holocaust survivors unhappy with the level of their Israeli state subsidies.
Since the Olmert government announced last week that Holocaust survivors would be granted a monthly allowance of about $20, Israeli media have been full of often emotive criticism against the prime minister. Some survivors likened their treatment in Israel to that of the Nazis and threatened to march on Jerusalem dressed in prison uniforms recalling the concentration camps of World War II.
“Those who submit a newspaper photograph of a woman wearing pajamas and a yellow patch drag the discussion down to an unacceptable level, and such images will not dictate the government’s actions on the issue,” Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday.
With talks between the government and survivors’ representatives under way, Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog said the monthly stipend could be increased.
