Every 45 minutes a Holocaust survivor dies

 

 

Poorer & lonelier: As world marks Int’l Holocaust Remembrance Day, figures show bleak reality behind lives of the remaining survivors in Israel.

By Omri Efraim

 

 

A Holocaust survivor dies every 45 minutes.

More than a thousand Holocaust survivors pass away every month, and the average age of those who live among us, some of them in extreme poverty, is 85 years of age, according to figures published Monday by the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel.

The figures were released to the public on the day the world marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Despite the government’s decision to increase funds by over NIS 500 million ($143 million) in the next few years, it seems many survivors are still living in severe conditions. Some 193,000 Holocaust survivors reside in Israel, and about 123,000 of them are treated by the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel – an organization that was founded by Holocaust survivors

Figures show that 86% of the 60,000 who turn to financial assistance from the organization live on less than NIS 5,000 ($1,432) a month, and 66% live on less than NIS 3,000 ($859). On average, 2,000 new requests for financial assistance are submitted every month. In the past two years about 36,000 have asked to be given refunds for medical equipment.

 

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