Romania to pay compensation to Holocaust survivors in Israel

Israel on Monday announced an agreement with Romania whereby Holocaust survivors will be eligible for a compensatory pension from Bucharest’s social security service.

During WWII, Romania was ruled by Marshal Ion Antonescu, a fascist who collaborated with and participated in Nazi Germany’s genocide of European Jewry.

According to a report released by the Romanian government in 2004, between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were murdered in the Holocaust in Romania, excluding all those murdered in Romanian territories temporarily under Hungarian control.

The agreement, unveiled by Israel’s Minister for Social Equality Meirav Cohen and Prime Minister Yair Lapid, sets up a system for Israelis who fled from Romania to file compensation claims.

“We do not have many years left to serve the survivors of the Holocaust, and therefore we act out of a sense of mission and urgency to do as much as we can in order to improve their economic situation, upgrade the services provided to them and allow them to age with dignity,” Cohen said.

“Recently, we made agreements with several countries to the tune of hundreds of millions of shekels that will be transferred to survivors’ bank accounts. In addition, we allocated NIS 300 million ($89.2 million) in the state budget, to increase allowances for the poorest Holocaust survivors,” she added.

Lapid said that “as the son of a Holocaust survivor, I am thrilled by the signing of this important agreement. The State of Israel must do everything so that Holocaust survivors can live here in the country with the dignity they deserve.”