Israeli-Romanian Holocaust Survivors to receive NIS 16 million
14 of the program’s beneficiaries are Holocaust survivors over the age of 100.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFThe site of the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz II-Birkenau(photo credit: REUTERS/KACPER PEMPEL)
The World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) announced that almost NIS 16 million will go to support approximately 2,500 needy Romanian Holocaust survivors in Israel. The Caritatea Foundation in Romania provided the funds through a program administered by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference).“Since 2016, the Caritatea Foundation has provided Holocaust victims in Israel with nearly NIS 50 million for this program from the proceeds of the restitution of properties that were once wrongfully taken from Jewish communities in Romanian. These funds will help needy Holocaust survivors living in Israel to live with the dignity they deserve,” said Gideon Taylor, Chair of Operations, WJRO and Ambassador Colette Avital, Vice President of the Caritatea Foundation in a joint statement.14 of the program’s beneficiaries are Holocaust survivors over the age of 100.According to the WJRO, last week, NIS 15,890,040 million was distributed to 2,431 Romanian Holocaust survivors in need who live in Israel. This year, payments of NIS 9,340 were given to 1,356 Holocaust survivors in need.The payments have increased by NIS 2,500 since last year and have gone to 1,075 additional survivors in need.There is a program in place for Romanian Holocaust survivors living outside of Israel called the Romanian Survivor Relief Program (RSRP) and since its launch in December 2018, $1.3 million has gone to over 5,000 people. The RSRP will make more funds available in the coming months, according to WJRO.The Claims Conference, which administers the program for Romanian Holocaust survivors on behalf of the Caritatea Foundation, worked with the Israeli government to identify those qualified for the grant.WJRO, together with Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania (FEDROM), negotiates for the restitution of Jewish property seized during the Holocaust and the Communist-era in Romania.
