Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who said two weeks ago that his government is the first to remove the "stain" of ignoring needy Holocaust survivors, still is negotiating on the amount of money the government will pay. He originally proposed assisting survivors under the age of 70 with 83 shekels ($20) a month.
The group representing survivors responded by staging a March of the Living demonstration, calling the offer another blot against the government. Finance Ministry officials have upped the offer to several hundred shekels but have not agreed on demands for payments to Jews who escaped Nazi death camps but had to hide out while being hunted down during the Hitler regime.