Tuesday marks the tenth anniversary of one of the most painful episodes in recent Swiss history: the signing of a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and Holocaust survivors and their families.
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Show me the money
Saying you’re sorry is fine … for a start. But how can we know your apology is really serious if you’re not going to back it up with a little gelt, huh?
Comics Legends Document Holocaust Artist’s Struggle
Neal Adams, Joe Kubert and Stan Lee have joined forces with a Holocaust expert to craft a comic that document the struggle of an Auschwitz survivor who painted watercolors to spare her mother’s life in the Nazi camp.
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Hungary Holocaust survivors to receive compensation
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A Jewish organization says survivors of the Nazi occupation of Budapest will each get a compensation payment of $2,900.
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Lieberman to do Jewish outreach for McCain in Holocaust Memorial
Sen. Joe Lieberman is stepping up his efforts for John McCain, heading to Michigan next week to for a reception targeted at Jewish voters in the Detroit area. The gathering is taking place in a decidedly unique venue for a political get-together, though.
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Inmate is Charged with Scamming the Families of Holocaust Victims
An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institute in Petersburg has been charged with running a scheme to cash in bank accounts intended for the families of Holocaust victims.
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Survivors will have to wait for increased aid
In a long overdue response, the [Israeli] Prime Minister’s Office announced yesterday that the government does not intend, for the time being, to carry out the recommendations of the public commission of inquiry on the aid for Holocaust survivors.
[…]
Source:
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1006694.html
By Adi Schwartz
Webmaster note: Can you imagine the outcry if any country other than Israel had decided to make a bunch of ancient Holocaust survivors wait for their money?
Bitter Holocaust Battle Plays Out on Capitol Hill
- Accusations Fly About Motives in Struggle Over Insurance Restitution
Head of panel on Holocaust survivors: Olmert ignoring pledge to boost benefits
A month after presenting the committee report examining the state’s support of Holocaust survivors, retired Supreme Court justice Dalia Dorner — who headed the committee — attacked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an extremely harsh way for not implementing the recommendations.
It’s not trivialization if you’re making money on it
It’s the principle (and interest) of the thing
Germany adds $250m. in survivors’ pensions
After months of negotiations, the German government has agreed to add $250 million to its pension program for Holocaust survivors over the next decade, the Claims Conference announced Sunday.
The change, which is expected to benefit around 6,000 elderly Holocaust survivors around the world — nearly one-third of them living in Israel — followed months of negotiations with the German Finance Ministry, the Conference said.
The “Article 2 Fund” pensions will no longer be limited to survivors whose annual income is less than $16,000.
“This was, first and foremost, an issue of principle,” said Gideon Taylor, Claims Conference executive vice president. “Since its establishment, the Claims Conference has argued that Holocaust compensation payments are symbolic and should not be based on need.”
The agreement on the changes, which go in effect on October 1, stipulates that old age pensions — including governmental pensions and social security payments — will not be counted toward calculation of the income limit, granting benefits to thousands of survivors who were previously ineligible for the stipend, the Conference said.
Germany determines eligibility for the pensions based on a survivor’s persecution history, including incarceration in certain camps or ghettos, and time spent in hiding or living under false identity.
[…]
Article 2 Fund stipends have paid more than $2 billion to more than 73,000 Holocaust survivors since they were established in 1992 through negotiations with the German government, with monthly payments averaging approximately $320, the Claims Conference said.
Source: Etgar Lefkovits, THE JERUSALEM POST
Sep. 2, 2007
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188392518799 &pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull