PM talks welfare with Holocaust survivor Dora Roth

Prime minister meets with Dora Roth, who expressed outrage at MK handling of issue of welfare, at his Jerusalem office.

By DANIELLE ZIRI, JPOST.COM STAFF
Netanyahu Meets with Holocaust Survivor Dora Roth (photo credit: Courtesy PMO)
Netanyahu Meets with Holocaust Survivor Dora Roth
(photo credit: Courtesy PMO)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Holocaust survivor Dora Roth at his Jerusalem office on Tuesday to discuss various ways to improve the welfare of Holocaust survivors in the country.
The prime minister had invited her to a meeting following her Knesset appearance in late April, where she had strongly expressed her outrage at MKs’ handling of the issue.
Netanyahu and Roth discussed various ways to improve the welfare of Holocaust survivors.
The prime minister said that he agreed with her that there are distortions that must be corrected and added that the State of Israel is committed to the welfare of Holocaust survivors. He said that he would ask Prime Minister's Office Director General Harel Locker to advance the issue.
Holocaust survivors protest budget shortage
Holocaust survivors protest budget shortage
At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu heralded Roth's dilligence to the cause, saying that she had deeply touched the nation.
"I am very impressed by your remarks, by your fervor and your truth. This is what must be seen here - the truth, and this is what we will do. You deeply touched the nation. People understand that we must care for this generation; there isn't much time and this is the main thing," Netanyahu told her.
More than half of Holocaust survivors living in Israel cannot afford all of their monthly household expenses, according to an annual report released in March by the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel.
The survey of some 500 survivors, released ahead of Sunday’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, also revealed that more than a third of the survivors – 37 percent – indicated that they are in financial difficulties and only 6% said they have no economic troubles.
One in five survivors also reported they had to cut down on food, and one in eight said that, due to their financial situation, they could not afford all the medicine they needed in the past year.
In addition, seven out of 10 survivors polled reported they need daily help for activities such as shopping, running errands and going to doctor’s appointments, and 49% said they suffer from health problems which constitute significant obstacles in their daily lives.
The foundation also noted that in total, 21,500 survivors were given nursing aid in 2012, an increase of about 7% from 2011.
The survey indicated that 92% think the government does not allocate enough funds for their welfare.
Some 60% of the survivors believe that Israel has a responsibility to help them more than other senior citizens and 67% said they are not satisfied with the way the government handles their needs.