Olmert Will Rework Aid Plan for Survivors of the Holocaust
Trying to forestall an embarrassing protest march by survivors of the Holocaust, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel on Friday agreed to rethink a widely criticized plan to give them a monthly stipend of about $20.
Mr. Olmert had announced the plan in response to concerns about poverty among some of the 240,000 Holocaust survivors who live in Israel, but the size of the stipend was considered risible by an organization of survivors. The organization announced a protest march on Sunday, and some planned to wear striped concentration camp uniforms, which would be hugely emotive here.
Colette Avital, a Labor member of Parliament who has been deeply involved in the issue, said that the government should instead concentrate on the 80,000 or so Israelis living on or under the poverty line who had been in camps, in ghettos or in hiding for at least 18 months, rather than trying to help everyone immediately.
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Mr. Olmert had announced the plan in response to concerns about poverty among some of the 240,000 Holocaust survivors who live in Israel, but the size of the stipend was considered risible by an organization of survivors. The organization announced a protest march on Sunday, and some planned to wear striped concentration camp uniforms, which would be hugely emotive here.
Colette Avital, a Labor member of Parliament who has been deeply involved in the issue, said that the government should instead concentrate on the 80,000 or so Israelis living on or under the poverty line who had been in camps, in ghettos or in hiding for at least 18 months, rather than trying to help everyone immediately.