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10 Cheshvan 5761 - Noveber 8, 2000 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Bnei Brak Opens Holocaust Survivors Center
by A. Cohen

An information center for Holocaust survivors -- the first of its kind in the country -- has begun operation in Bnei Brak. The center is sponsored by the Municipal Department for Social Services of the city along with a group of volunteers, headed by Mr. Michael Orich.

Municipal Secretary and Spokesman Avrohom Tannenbaum related that today there are 300,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel aged 65 and over who constitute 40% of the country's elderly population. In addition, there are many East European immigrants who spent the war in forced labor camps or in exile.

During recent years, new avenues of communication with this sector have been opened, mainly on issues involving rights to compensation and the return of assets. In addition, solutions for dealing with survivors' unique problems have been clarified; these include the natural aging process, the resurgence of feelings engendered by the loss of their loved ones and the rekindling of the trauma of the entire Holocaust experience. Such solutions are only partially provided through documentation of the survivors' personal experiences and through various other organizations.

This has paved the way to exploitation and a demand for fees for information and for receipt of various rights which are actually available at no cost from regular channels. Many of those eligible for such compensation find it difficult to understand the notices which appear in newspapers and on public billboards regarding their rights. Such a situation occurred recently about the Compensation for Forced Labor Camps Law that enables every Holocaust survivor to receive a one-time compensation payment through the Worldwide Claims Committee without resort to professional or legal intermediaries. The same holds true regarding benefits and additional rights from various funds, where confusion, a lack of clarity and disinformation prevails.

Rabbi Tannenbaum added that this irresponsible situation is what motivated the Municipality and the volunteers to establish an information center to oversee issues involving various types of compensation and the necessary criteria for their receipt. It will also coordinate documented historical information from the Holocaust period.

The center opened with a unique program held in the municipal conference room. It was attended by the Chief Rabbi of Israel Yisroel Meir Lau, himself a Holocaust survivor. The program took place under the aegis of Mayor Rabbi Mordechai Karelitz and Deputy Mayor Rabbi Shmuel Levinger, head of the Social Services Department. The center is located in Beit Hakashish on Achiya Hashiloni Street and will be a homelike meeting place for Holocaust survivors.

Many second generation Holocaust survivors have volunteered their services for this endeavor. A team of professional lawyers and experts on Holocaust survivors' rights, as well as specially trained members of the Department for the Elderly Care and the Federation for the Aged, will serve the survivors. The center will have an answering service and regular reception hours. The staff will also conduct house calls. The steering committee is headed by the Municipal Director of the Department for Social Services, Mrs. Shlomit Gidron, and Deputy Director, Mrs. Arlette Moyal.

 

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