Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Director-General Ra’anan Dinur, Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry Director-General Nahum Itskovitz, National Economics Council (NEC) Chairman Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, Pensioners Affairs Ministry Director-General Dr. Avi Bitzur and Finance Ministry representatives today met with representatives of the roof organizations of Holocaust survivors, led by Noah Flug, and submitted the plan to change and improve income support payments for the needy elderly.
 
According to the proposed plan, which is based on directives from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the State would allocate an overall sum of approximately NIS 1.5 billion to deal with the elderly.  NIS 1 billion would be added as a universal supplement to all elderly support payments and approximately NIS 500 million would be allocated for the needy elderly including those Holocaust survivors defined as ‘second circle.’
 
At a 19.8.07 meeting with Prime Minister Olmert the sides agreed to provide extensive support to ‘first circle’ Holocaust survivors.  It was later decided to find a proper response as well for ‘Holocaust refugees’, i.e. those who are not among the first circle of those who emerged from the camps and ghettoes, in the framework of assistance to the country’s needy elderly.
 
Following comprehensive work carried out by the NEC and an interministerial team chaired by PMO Dir.-Gen. Dinur, it was decided to allocate an additional NIS 500 million for the needy elderly in Israel.  The supplement will be relative and will depend on variables such as age and residence ownership.  Thus, elderly who belong to the weakest population will receive the greatest assistance, which will enable them to enjoy a respectable daily life.
 
The PMO views the plan as a proper response to the plight of those in the second circle of Holocaust survivors as part of the effort to improve the overall situation of the needy elderly in Israel.  This plan is in keeping with Prime Minister Olmert’s socio-economic outlook, which views the reduction of poverty in Israel as an important goal.  It is also in keeping with the need to provide greater assistance to the needy elderly, which they have hitherto not received in the support payment framework.
 
Following the presentation of the various alternatives today, Prime Minister Olmert will hold a discussion next week with Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On, Social Affairs and Social Services Minister Yitzhak Herzog and Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan in order to approve the agreed-upon plan formulated by the aforementioned ministerial team.