The Roundtable for Holocaust Survivors

The  task-oriented round-table was established in order to create a support system for Holocaust survivors that will address their needs, over and above their rights to receive financial support. This includes responding to their emotional, social, psychological and physical needs, making the support accessible to all the survivors in accordance with their physical state, and enabling them to effectively exploit the available programs and services.

The round-table conference was convened by the Holocaust Survivors’ Rights Authority, the Ministry for Social Equality, the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel and the Claims Conference in Israel. Sheatufim, with its expertise in facilitating participatory processes, manages, advises and supports this cross-sectoral dialogue.

Background

In recent years there has been a significant and welcomed change regarding the rights of Holocaust survivors. Wider circles of survivors have been granted rights, and the rights and social assistance to survivors have been enlarged, in the framework of a national program for assistance to Holocaust survivors with funding of one billion NIS.

The round-table was established due to the recognition of the fact that support for Holocaust survivors presents us with complex challenges as a society and as a state. As they age, the needs of the survivors become increasingly complex. Many of the survivors need more medicines, help at home, assistance and nursing. The quality of the support for Holocaust survivors is not always a function of budget. Loneliness in old age is a great difficulty, especially for those who have lost their families and bear the scars of the horrors they experienced.

In addition, there are many agencies involved in supporting the survivors: government ministries; the Claims Conference; the Center for Organizations of Holocaust Survivors; local authorities; civil society organizations; volunteers and private individuals. Although they all do sacred work and all have a common goal, promoting cooperation and coordination between these bodies will help to formulate more effective responses to the community of survivors, and to each individual survivor.

Work Teams

The full assembly of the round-table decided to establish two practical work teams. The teams were asked to rely as much as possible on existing solutions, to examine the possibility of improving them and making them more accessible, and if necessary, to examine new responses:

Social Assistance Response Team: The team was asked to formulate recommendations for improving programs and services whose function is to address the social needs of the survivors (primarily the problem of loneliness), while distinguishing between the needs of the various groups of survivors and focusing on volunteering (finding, screening, recruiting and placement of volunteers, etc.). The team members are field personnel from the public sector and the third sector with professional experience in the field of volunteering in its various contexts.

The Medical and Mental Health Response Team was asked to survey the survivors' needs in the context of medical, paramedical, psychosocial, and supportive treatment, divided into the various groups of survivors and to formulate recommendations for improving and making the above-mentioned support accessible, while focusing on survivors who are confined to their homes. The team members are professionals in the fields of medicine, nursing, psychotherapy, social work, representatives of government ministries, healthcare funds and nonprofit organizations etc.

The results of the process were presented, in a summary session in May 2017.