Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Medical Aid Fund Turns Away Holocaust Survivors

A fund that helps Israeli Holocaust survivors pay medical expenses told recipients that it would stop receiving applications until next year, citing an overflow of requests.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported that the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel this week suspended the transfer of funds to over 8,000 survivors eligible for benefits.

The group has been receiving 100-150 such requests every day this year and has so far paid out $7.7 million to 9,100 applicants. The Foundation’s dedicated budget for such reimbursements has a shortfall of $5.1 million, Ynet reported.

The fund reimburses low-income survivors for medical bills of up to NIS 4,000 (roughly $1,000), which they have already paid out of their own pockets. The reimbursements cover dental services, hearing aides and prescription glasses.

Established in the 1990s, the foundation is funded by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which covers 60% of its budget. Another 30 percent comes from the Israeli Ministry of Finanace, and the rest comes from other donors.

The organization’s overall budget was $112.5 million this year.

Rony Kalinsky, the foundation’s general manager, blamed the government for the budget shortage, according to Ynet. The Finance Ministry said that it had increased its contribution in recent years.

The Foundation operates independently of the state.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.