"I turn to you as acting Welfare Minister and as one who sees
himself as the representative of thousands of Jews rescued
from the fires. The manner of implementation and the legal
interpretation of the Ghetto Work Law [Gesetz zur
Zahlbarmachung von Renten aus Beschaftigungen in einem
Ghetto, known by the German initials ZRBG — Ed] in
Germany are defined very strictly. Survivors feel a sense of
almost blatant abuse against them and an astonishing display
of insensitivity to the circumstances of their persecution,"
Deputy Welfare Minister Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz told German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a meeting
attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni and experts
from the Welfare and Foreign Affairs Ministries.
Rabbi Ravitz told Foreign Minister Steinmeier that since the
law was legislated in Germany, 94-98 percent of applicants
have been denied benefits. "I am familiar with laws
legislated here in Israel and there are people in the Finance
Ministry who make full implementation difficult. But over
three years have passed since the law was passed and the
percentage of allotment recipients is so small that it points
to a fundamental problem and the matter should be remedied
quickly."
German officials demand documentary proof for conditions that
were common, and follow very strict interpretations of the
conditions of the law. For example, one of the stipulations
is that the compensation in question is paid only if the work
"was done voluntarily." In the hellish conditions of the
time, this is often hard to determine. German officials have
not been giving applicants the benefit of the doubt.
Rabbi Ravitz told Foreign Minister Steinmeier that Israel's
Bituach Leumi (the National Insurance Institute), which is
under his charge, has already passed all of its objections to
the way the law is implemented and interpreted on to the
German government. According to the German legislation,
Bituach Leumi serves as a sort of liaison bureau in Israel
for the social insurance institutions in Germany and is
entrusted with assisting Holocaust survivors to submit their
claims. "I am asking for your intervention in solving this
difficult problem which the survivors are entitled to by
right, not as charity," he said. Rabbi Ravitz said the
feelings of resentment in Israel are shared by Diaspora
organizations as well.
The German Foreign Minister said that as a member of the
Bundestag he was a full partner in legislating the law and is
shocked that the law is not being implemented. "I promise to
act immediately upon my return to Germany towards the
implementation of the law, and if there is a need to amend
the legislation I will take appropriate action," he said.
Rabbi Ravitz and Mrs. Livni pledged to place experts from
their respective ministries at his disposal upon request.
During German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Israel,
Rabbi Ravitz asked Deputy PM Ehud Olmert to request that she
intervene in the matter. Livni, who was also present at the
meeting, said she had also discussed the matter with the
German Chancellor.
According to estimates, the Ghetto Workers Law affects
approximately 10,000 Holocaust survivors who should be
receiving monthly allotments of 250 euro (NIS 1,400) in
addition to one-time retroactive payments from the time the
law took effect on July 1, 1997. According to these
estimates, the law should require a one-time budget
allocation of 100 million euros ($120 million) and another 20
million euros ($25 million) annually.
The law was passed in 2002 following a government bill passed
by the German Bundestag based on recommendations by Germany's
Supreme Court for Social Affairs, which called for a federal
law to provide monthly compensation for labor performed in
the ghettos. The legislation was the product of a controversy
between Holocaust organizations and the German government.
Rabbi Ravitz told Foreign Minister Steinmeier that during his
visit to the death camps he spoke about his grandfather, who
perished in Auschwitz. "I said there that they, yimach
shemom, did not want to kill him alone. They wanted to
annihilate the entire Jewish people. `I want to let my
grandfather know that today he has 500 descendants,'" Rabbi
Ravitz said in his speech. "And I am telling you today, since
that visit, in which Minister Livni took part as well, that
my grandfather who perished there, Hy'd, has some 600
descendants, kein yirbu."
Rabbi Ravitz said since all those eligible for benefits, who
were at least ten years old at the time, are now at a very
advanced age and in need of the funds, the German government
should work to rectify the matter as quickly as possible.
