Aid for Life – For the Welfare of Holocaust Survivors in Israel

“The state of Israel was established, inter alia, against the backdrop of the tragedy that befell the Jewish people during the Second World War, and the Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel at the war’s end were full partners in its construction and development”.

(Micha Lindenstrauss, State Comptroller, taken from the State Comptroller’s Report on Aid to Holocaust Survivors, Elul 5767, August 2007).

As part of Project Latet Health and with the support of the French Foundation for the Memory of the Holocaust, Fondation pour la Me'moire de la Shoah, (FMS), Latet operates an aid project for needy Holocaust survivors nationwide.

Current Situation

·         256,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel.

·         23% of Holocaust survivors live in poverty (over 80,000 people).

·         14% of Holocaust survivors suffer from nutritional insecurity, 4% suffer from severe nutritional insecurity (figures taken from the Report of the inter-ministerial commission for solving the plight of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, May 2007).

Project Objectives

·          Helping needy Holocaust survivors nationwide with the acquisition of medication and a monthly distribution of food, utilizing the organization’s volunteers.

·         Creating a social network and providing support for Holocaust survivors

·          Emergency assistance in urgent cases.

·           Promoting the issue of realizing Holocaust survivor rights in Israel.

Implementation

Locating the needy:  Carried out according to criteria and in cooperation with the health clinics, municipal welfare departments and local aid organizations.

Volunteers: The project is carried out by Latet volunteers who maintain direct and ongoing relations with Holocaust survivors.  The volunteers undergo professional training and are accompanied by a professional team.

Help with medication:  During the monthly visit, the survivors are given coupons to be used toward the acquisition of medication.  If necessary, those of restricted mobility will receive assistance in the acquisuition of medication in the form of a volunteer who will help them get to the pharmacy or who will purchase the medication for them.

Help with food:  During the monthly visit, the volunteers bring a basket of food to the home of the Holocaust survivors (the basket was put together with the support of a dietician specializing in the elderly and it contains sufficient dry goods for a month).

Help with information:  Under Project Giving Health, information on rights and the possibilities of receiving aid in various areas is provided by the volunteers and in written form.