Holocaust survivors advocacy groups plan to hold a ‘March of the Living’ opposite the Knesset Sunday in protest of inadequate aid from the state.
The protest, widely publicized and encouraged in Israel’s media, is set to begin at the Knesset and end at the Prime Minister’s Office. It comes in response to a proposal by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to allot 130 million shekels toward survivors in 2008 – a sum that advocacy groups say amounts to 83 shekels per survivor and term “insulting.”
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded to news of the march angrily, saying “They should be ashamed! My parents escaped the Nazis, and they are attacking me?!” Prime Minister's Office officials claim that it is absurd that the protest is directed against the first government to offer to increase the aid package at all.
Youth groups, organizations and Knesset Members across the political spectrum have announced their plans to attend the protest. Israel’s major daily newspapers published banner headlines announcing the protest will take place at 4:30 PM and featured maps of the march’s route.
The protest is being organized by the Holocaust Survivors Welfare Fund (HSWF) and Uzi Dayan’s Tafnit Party. The umbrella Center of Organizations for Holocaust Survivors in Israel (COHSI) was also a sponsor, but it pulled out following meetings with government officials. COHSI was formed to coordinate between the more than 50 organizations representing survivors in Israel and is well-funded by money paid in compensation by Germany.
HSWF, which has hired a top public relations firm to wage the media battle, says it is taking a firmer stance because it is involved with survivors on the ground level and knows the depth of the crisis they are facing.
Olmert has refused to comply with the demand set forth by HSWF – that he announce publicly that the previous offer has been annulled and meet with the groups for direct negotiations. Olmert is scheduled to meet representatives of COHSI on Wednesday.
The government has made efforts to get the protest cancelled, with Minister Rafi Eitan scheduled to meet with the survivors groups against Sunday morning. Eitan told Army Radio that he planned to propose a differentiation in aid between those who actually survived Nazi death and concentration camps, and those who escaped the Nazis. He said that 700 million shekels would solve the crisis.
A new Knesset committee made up of members of the Welfare, Finance and Health Ministries is set to meet Sunday to draft a new offer.State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is poised to publish a report in the coming days on the treatment of Holocaust survivors living in Israel.
Concentration Camp Uniforms Awakens Debate
Welfare Minister Yitzchak Herzog expressed opposition on Sunday to plans to hold the march. Herzog mentioned newspaper reports that the protesters plan to wear concentration camp uniforms and yellow stars during the protest, saying that "all in all, this a financial dispute,” and that such displays would “damage the collective memory of the Holocaust.”
Nitzan Or, the pen-name of Yeshayahu Rotter of the Rotter.net scoop-site, pointed out that whereas all of Israel's newspapers strongly condemned Holocaust survivors from Gush Katif who decided to highlight their plight by displaying orange Stars of David, "not a single site had anything but praise for these survivors, who plan on donning concentration camp uniforms and yellow stars while holding a March of the Living in Jerusalem for a few hundred extra shekels."
Tafnit's Uzi Dayan told Army Radio that he knew of no plans to use Holocaust imagery, and suspected that the report emanated from the office of the prime minister, as all responses from Olmert and his associates have dealt with the objectionable nature of the use of the symbols rather than the actual substance of the protest.