Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference)

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Nazi Victims in Gaza Region Receive $428,000 in Aid from Claims Conference as Part of Long-Standing Support

Jan. 12, 2009 -- The Claims Conference is allocating more than $428,000 to assist Nazi victims, living in areas under missile attack from Gaza, who may be especially traumatized by the current conflict. These new grants build on the Claims Conference’s support over the past years to help Nazi victims in southern Israel cope with the additional distress evoked by their present situation.

Claims Conference assistance includes:

  • $268,000 to pay for full memberships in 2009 for Nazi victims in “supportive communities.” Supportive communities provide emergency life buttons, enabling elderly residents to easily contact (without use of a telephone) emergency medical assistance directly. Additional services also include home modifications, counseling, security, and socialization programs. The Claims Conference allocated $250,000 for this program in 2008.
  • The Claims Conference has enhanced its ongoing support of AMCHA, the National Israeli Center for Psychological Support of Nazi Victims, with a $50,000 grant for 2009, specifically to provide psychosocial support to Nazi victims living near Gaza. In 2008, the Claims Conference funded a new AMCHA branch in Sderot.
  • Special emergency allocations in 2009 of $36,000 to provide shatter-proof glass windows in three nursing homes – Beit Avot Ashdod, Association for the Welfare of the Aged in Beersheva, and Neve Oranim in Gedera – in southern Israel. A total of 290 Nazi victims live in these nursing homes.
  • Hunger relief programs in Ashkelon and Ashdod. For 2009, the Claims Conference allocated $74,088 to Eshel Ashdod and $32,256 to Eshel Ashkelon for food programs that include hot meals for Nazi victims, a program that can be of great comfort in a traumatic time. For 2007 and 2008, these agencies received a combined $268,000 for hunger relief for Nazi victims.

Previous and ongoing Claims Conference assistance for Nazi victims in southern Israel include the following projects:

  • In 2008, the Claims Conference allocated $211,000 to expand and reinforce the day center of the Association for the Elderly in Sha’ar Hanegev, where the majority of attendees are Nazi victims. In addition, the day center of the Association for the Elderly in Sderot received a $38,000 grant toward reinforcing the building against attacks. These centers were established with Claims Conference allocations in 1998 of $140,000 and $100,000 respectively. Last year, the Claims Conference also initiated a program to cover the out-of-pocket costs for low-income victims of Nazi persecution who attend these day centers.
  • The Foundation for the Benefit of Nazi Victims in Israel uses approximately NIS 1.2 million yearly from its Claims Conference allocations to provide nursing care to Nazi victims in the Gaza region.
  • In 2006, allocations of $499,800 were made to three Amigour sheltered housing complexes in Ashkelon to provide protected areas on every floor of the complex in order to shelter residents during attacks. In 2008, the Claims Conference allocated an additional $144,025 toward this project. This is part of a larger Claims Conference allocation of over $1.8 million to construct protected areas in 13 complexes in vulnerable regions of Israel.