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We owe it to them. We owe it to ourselves. And this means being open in everything we do.As all of us know all too well, the number of Holocaust survivors who are with us continues to fall, and many of the elderly survivors today are in need of some help from us to live in dignity.The needs of survivors have to be at the forefront of our concerns. It is critical that we all work together to make sure that all the survivors live in respectability.This is my pledge. This is our pledge.Today especially, at a time when we are witness to increasing anti-Semitism throughout the streets of Europe, it is critical that we not forget what happened in these very countries just 70 years ago. In fact, many of these same European countries are today supporting a boycott of the State of Israel over its very existence.We cannot -- we must not -- remain silent.This is our responsibility to the last of the survivors. We are determined to stand up for them and for their rights. We have made progress but there is still work to do.The Israeli Government should work to include some form of restitution – or compensation – of Jewish property from Arab countries.We must fight bureaucracy and cut through the red tape.We must not allow the survivors to face unnecessary difficulties.It is truly the eleventh hour.The writer is the Minister for Senior Citizens.
These people, who have undergone untold horrors, are a vital part of our society.