Compensation funds awarded to Romanian Jewish Holocaust survivors
Over NIS 9 million will be distributed this week to at least 2,100 individuals, averaging at over NIS 4,000 per person.
By SARAH BEN-NUNHolocaust survivors take part in a World Jewish Congress photo project for remembrance day.(photo credit: WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS)
In light of the pandemic, the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WRJO) announced today that funds will be awarded to Romanian Holocaust survivors living in Israel. Over NIS 9 million will be distributed this week to at least 2,100 individuals, averaging at over NIS 4,000 per person.The money is made available by the Caritatea Foundation, an institution dedicated to memorializing and concretizing the legacy of the Jewish communities of Romania, which was founded by the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania (FEDROM) and the WRJO. It is being administered through the Claims Conference, an organization that seeks and negotiates compensation and restitution for Jewish Holocaust victims.The Claims Conference has worked with the Israeli government to find eligible elderly survivors for the grant, "to live with the dignity they deserve," said WJRO operations chair Gideon Taylor and Caritatea Foundation vice president Colette Avital in a joint statement.Since the 1950s, the Claims Conference has been dedicated to this cause, pushing for compensation on lost properties, negotiating with foreign governments, and providing social services for current survivors."[These] properties... were once wrongfully taken from Jewish communities in Romania," they continued. Since 2016, the Caritatea Foundation has overseen the transfer of over NIS 57 million to Holocaust victims in Israel.