Germany will now be providing an additional $27 million in one-time payments to Holocaust survivors to help them “cope” with the events of October 7th.
- According to reports, 113,000 “survivors” live in Israel and will each receive a $236 or €220 one-time payment.
- The funds are aimed at helping those most affected by a perceived loss of “support systems” after the widely successful military raid on Israel by Palestinian freedom fighters on October 7th.
- The payment scheme was facilitated in part by Germany’s Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), which is described as a “Jewish umbrella organization” that seeks monetary damages for Holocaust survivors.
The conversation: The move underscores Germany’s post-Second World War commitments to the international Jewish community, which it considers a state responsibility.
- “Many Holocaust survivors were hit particularly hard by the Hamas attacks, whether through the loss of their homes, support systems in the form of care,” said a spokesman for the German finance ministry.
- “This exceptional and stressful situation for the victims of the Holocaust, which has been exacerbated by the anti-Semitism being expressed around the world, the payment of 25 million euros was intended as a gesture of solidarity and support from Germany to Israel,” they continued.
Zooming in: Germany continues to spend a fortune in taxpayer money annually to support those who claim to have “survived” the Holocaust eight decades ago.
- Germany’s action comes amid a so-called “rising tide” of antisemitism across the globe, according to Jewish advocacy groups, which consider even mild critique of Israel’s ongoing war efforts to be an expressly “antisemitic” act.
- In 2023, Germany announced it was already set to give Holocaust survivors a whopping $1.4 billion in the form of pensions, elderly care, or other monthly stipends in 2024. The figure far exceeded the $1.2 billion it promised in 2023.
- In September of 2022, it was estimated that roughly 280,000 Holocaust survivors were living globally and would be eligible for payments.
Zooming out: Since the events of October 7th, nearly 40,000 Palestinians—mainly women and children—are believed to have been killed from indiscriminate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip.
- Israel’s ongoing actions have drawn accusations of genocide, and many of its top leaders have been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for “crimes against humanity.”
- In April, Germany reified its “commitment to tackling antisemitism” by adding a series of questions on immigration exams meant to filter out those who hold anti-Zionist rhetoric from entering the country legally.
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