Holocaust survivors who evacuated from the South and North due to Israel's ongoing war with Hamas are struggling to meet their basic needs, due to a lack of resources and aid available, a Knesset statement revealed Tuesday.
This comes as Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen, who heads the special committee to help address the needs of Holocaust survivor evacuees, visited the various hotels where the evacuees are staying, with the intention of ensuring that survivors are "receiving all the necessary services and that their needs are provided for [by] the government."
Following the October 7 massacre, Holocaust survivors have been flooded with fear and painful memories from their past. "This reminds me of what we went through and how much we suffered," explained Holocaust survivor Sarina Blumenfeld.
Holocaust survivor Clara, from the northern town of Shlomi, has been evacuated from her home and is currently staying at a government-funded hotel. Clara stated that she was received well at the hotel and felt comfortable there. However, she adds that "they need to match the food better for people our age."
Overall the Holocaust survivors are being taken care of, but "there is still room for improvement," Cohen said. "There is a need to put someone in charge from the government or else the mess will continue."
Holocaust survivors struggle to have their needs met
Currently, all branches of the National Insurance Institute have been closed to the public since the beginning of the war. This has made it difficult to provide senior citizens with the services that they need from the government.
Volunteers are needed to make up for the lack of government workers to help the survivors receive basic needs such as medication.
A volunteer named Amit stated that "everything relies on volunteers. They go with evacuees to pharmacies in the city to buy medicine."
When volunteers go to pick up medication for the survivors, they experience further difficulty due to the lack of doctors. "There is one doctor for all the evacuees here," Amit continued, adding that it creates long waiting times.
Another issue is a lack of Russian speakers, with only a few volunteers or National Insurance Institute representatives speaking the language. This has been a source of frustration among both the survivors and their family members.
Michal, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, has stated that her father's condition has deteriorated since his evacuation. She has been left with no choice but to abandon government support and turn to private help, paying thousands of shekels.
The government must get organized
Tami Diskin from the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry expressed her frustration with the disorganization as well. She said that even though every hotel has a representative from the ministry, an organized list of all the people who have been evacuated still does not exist.
Although the ministry hopes to receive the data in the coming days, Cohen states that without an understanding of how many evacuees there are, there is no way to fully know what they need.
She emphasizes the need for a community manager provided by the government.
"If we have one, things will be run better. As long as this situation continues, the problem and mess will not be solved."
Reuters contributed to this report.