He Who Knows No Shame

Ehud Olmert. It is almost hard for me to speak his name. He has announced that "we are correcting a 60 year old injustice that has never to date been solved. Holocaust survivors living in Israel are entitled to lives of dignity...." Apparently a holocaust survivors dignity is only worth 83 shekels a month. This is according to an article published in Haaretz today. I'll let the facts and figures speak for themselves.

One hundred and twenty thousand holocaust survivors live in Israel today. According to the article the survivors must be at least seventy years old to be eligible for the stipend. The program is not scheduled to start till next year. In 2008 120 million will be allocated, in 2009 240 million will be allocated and 300 million in 2011. So if they live till 2011 they will get 260 shekels worth of dignity. According to the announcement the decision was based on a recommendation of a committee within the Ministry of Welfare. According to Haaretz the committee recommended giving the survivors a little over a thousand shekels a month. Herzog, the minister of welfare denied that it would be 83 shekels a month. He claimed it would be a reasonable sum. How much? "A very suitable package." Take that to the bank and try to buy some dignity with it.There is also talk about hundreds of millions of shekels from non government sources. The sources are mostly nameless although Herzog the Welfare Minister listed some of these sources as "the Jewish People and Germany"

Olmert is only the head of this shameful and callous group. Its members who also think dignity costs 83 shekels a month include the Finance Minister Bar On, Justice Minister Friedman, Pensioners Minister Rafi Eitan, Health Minister Yakov Ben Yizri and the afore mentioned Welfare Minister Herzog. All of them present at this announcement and all feeling as though they have done a good deed for the less fortunate.

Ten percent of survivors die every year. As one of them put it "the government is choosing a biological solution. " The government needs to do the dignified thing. They should not spread it out over the years but take the lump sum of 720 million shekel and divide it among the survivors in a lump sum giving them the dignity to do with the money what they see fit. As for the man with no shame...vote him out. Elections will come sooner or later. Let him disgrace us no more. Vote Olmert out of office.

Submitted by Carol