Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office have decided to delay the payments of benefits to Holocaust survivors until March. The benefits were to have been paid on Tuesday. Officials said they would not transfer the funds until new bills are introduced outlining criteria for financial aid for the elderly public in general.
According to the government’s previous plan, the state was to allot an additional one billion shekels to the elderly, and NIS 500 million to elderly Israelis in serious financial need. In practice, each elderly person was to receive an additional NIS 150-500 from the National Insurance Institute, with older applicants receiving more. The criteria were to be based in part on property ownership.