Every Holocaust Survivor in Israel to Receive One-Time Solidarity Payment
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All 113,000 Jewish Holocaust Survivors In Israel Will Receive A Newly Established One-Time Payment Of €220 from €25 million fund
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, April 9, 2024: Today, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) and the Authority for Holocaust Survivors announced the implementation of a new payment for Holocaust survivors in Israel. The Solidarity for Israel Fund (SFI) is a one-time, emergency acknowledgment payment from the German government secured by the Claims Conference together with the Holocaust Survivors Rights Authority (HSRA) of the Government of Israel. This emergency acknowledgment payment from the German government for Holocaust survivors is specifically for survivors residing in Israel during the ongoing conflict. The total allocation under the SFI program amounts to €25 million.
Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference, said, “Supporting Holocaust survivors is always our number one concern. Immediately following the horrific attacks of October 7, we began working to ensure every survivor was first safe, then secure in a location where they could be comfortable, and to ensure that they have financial support while the conflict continues. This additional symbolic acknowledgment payment by Germany to Holocaust survivors in Israel is a message of solidarity.”
Uri Maklev, Deputy Minister in The Prime Minister’s office: “With the outbreak of the war, the government of Germany stood in touch with The Authority of Holocaust Survivors Rights in The Prime Minister’s office, to understand how can they assist for survivors in Israel, and their unique needs. The cooperation with The Claims Conference is blessed as it empowers the assistance and help that survivors receive. The total grant of €25 million to survivors is designated for immediate help & relief. Beyond that, this grant carries a statement of Identifying with each one of the survivors in Israel.
“With the outbreak of the war on October 7th, The Authority of Holocaust Survivors Rights came to act in helping survivors who had been evacuated from the forefront in the country’s southern and northern borders. During the first weeks of the war, The Authority of Holocaust Survivors Rights reached out personally to every survivor in the country, to understand the unique needs that each one has. We will continue to work and assist Holocaust Survivors, as this is both our moral duty and right.”
For the first time, all verified survivors who were residents of Israel as of January 1, 2024, regardless of compensation programs they have been eligible for in the past, are eligible to receive the Solidarity for Israel Fund payment. This new fund is open to all survivors whose persecution is recognized by the German government.
Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, “Holocaust survivors alive today endured the worst of humanity in their youth. Israel became their ‘safe place,’ a home they would not ever again have to leave. To be unsettled in Israel is retraumatizing for them and requires additional support and services. We will continue to monitor the needs of survivors – it is unfathomable that they would have to endure this level of threat again in their lifetime.”
The Claims Conference is beginning to allocate this one-time payment of €220 in March 2024, with initial payments going to those survivors already receiving compensation payments from the Claims Conference. Survivors who are receiving services such as home care funded by the Claims Conference but are not currently receiving compensation payments administered by the Claims Conference will receive notification by mail of the new fund and will be instructed on how to provide their updated details to receive the new payment. The Solidarity for Israel Fund payments will continue over the next several months until every eligible survivor in Israel has received their payment. Heirs are not entitled to receive payments under the SFI program,
For more information about the fund, or to provide details for payment, Holocaust survivors in Israel should contact the Claims Conference Tel Aviv call center via phone (03-519-4400) or by email: sfi@claimscon.org.
