A report released Monday by the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel shows that some 45,000 survivors, or nearly a quarter of Israel’s community, live in poverty with an income below NIS 3,000 per month.
Over one-quarter, or 27%, said they did not have heat in their apartment during the winter months, while 65% said they needed help to pay for their groceries and medications.
Almost half – 45% — report feeling lonely most of the time, though 60% said they meet with family members at least once each week. Over one-third, or 36%, live alone, and half are widowed.
Illustrative photo of a Holocaust survivor (photo credit: Kobi Gideon / Flash90)
The report, released ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked on on April 15-16 this year, also found that 46 percent of Israelis believe a second Holocaust can happen, five percentage points higher than last year. And a similar number of Israel’s 189,000 Holocaust survivors, or 47%, agree.
Some 46% of survivors also say that future generations will not remember the Holocaust after they are gone, a spike of nine percentage points from last year’s study.
— Haviv Rettig Gur
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