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Maariv, 1 July 2007

Promises thrown to the wind after Holocaust Memorial Day remained unfulfilled

Despite the promises: the Holocaust survivor died in shameful poverty

Esther Frank, heroine of the movie “the morality of payments”, passed away at her house, destitute ■ The state of Israel  keeps ignoring from the suffering of thousands of holocaust survivors who live in our neighbourhoods, some of them beneath the poverty line ■  In the meantime, 30 of them die each day

Esther Frank passed away last week, destitute. After surviving the hell of the holocaust, Esther gave in to the inflexibility of Israeli society and the false promises of her government. Each day 30 Holocaust survivors die, some of them in shameful poverty, but the emergency plan to care for them is still delayed.

Esther, who survived Trizenshtat and left Auschwitz, was defeated at the hands of her own people country of Jews. For five years, Esther hasn’t left her house, and at the age of 88 had to sit entire days without moving, only because she didn’t have anyone to help her walk. Help is money, and that’s something a holocaust survivor dosen’t have, since he supports himself from a pitiable pension of the Israeli government – 2,000 Shekels (ca. $480) a month.

We met Esther the first time during research for the movie “The Morality of Payments”, a documentary that descried the insufferable condition of 80 thousand poor holocaust survivors in Israel.

When we came to her, to her small, mortgaged apartment in Petah Tikva, the front door was open. She sat there, in her sad living room, alone, and didn’t notice we came in. She doesn’t hear because she cant afford a hearing aid, and she can barely see because she cant afford new glasses.

There wasn’t one of us who was untouched by the reality that Esther’s life slapped in our faces. So many have said “you cant continue to live like this”’ and gone on with their lives. Israeli Prime-Minister - Ehud Olmert gave a passionate speech, the minister Hertzog swore that an emergency plan to take care of the holocaust survivors would be formed, but 3 months had passed and Esther died without seeing her country express remorse. The glorious comfortable country, which was built from payment moneys intended for Esther and many more like her. She lived to her last day the memories from all the family she has lost there, but also the insult that was scorched in her here. Esther isn’t the only one, holocaust survivors keep on dying in poverty, around 30 each day, and we swallow the guilt.

One day a burglar walked into Esther’s house, through the door that is always open so if she falls someone could come in and help her. Esther saw the burglar walking around her in the room, but couldn’t do anything. He took the last 86 Shekels (ca. $20) she had left for that month. After that day, she started locking the door, and two days later when she fell, no one could come in to help her. She laid there for hours until she could get some help.

After the movie came out telling Esther’s story, some people who were moved by it, donated money to buy her a hearing aid. A media clinic psychologist checked her, the hearing aid was fitted to her needs, and Esther finally aid that she had hoped for, for so long. She was happy. A couple days later, she passed away.

We believe that suddenly, when she heard and saw what was going on around here, she realized that it’s ashamed to waste her strength and let go of life. We understand her, salute her and are terribly ashamed.