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Israel faces Holocaust protests Israel faces Holocaust protests
(about 2 hours later)
A controversy has broken out in Israel over the question of additional assistance to Holocaust survivors living in the country. Representatives of Israel's 250,000 Holocaust survivors are due to demonstrate outside the house of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem.
A new government offer of a monthly stipend of $20 (£10) a month has been strongly criticised as too little by survivor groups.A new government offer of a monthly stipend of $20 (£10) a month has been strongly criticised as too little by survivor groups.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government is now reconsidering its plans. Many elderly survivors say they struggle to pay for medical treatment and, in some cases, food.
Survivor groups are planning to demonstrate outside his residence in Jerusalem later on Sunday. The Israeli government is said to be revising its plans.
Many Holocaust survivors are outraged at the government's plan for extra assistance, saying it is too little, too late. Dubi Arbel, director of one of the survivor organisations, told the BBC that their needs were not being met.
"They wake up every night with nightmares. They have cancer 14 times more than the regular population. They break their bones due to the malnutrition they had years ago. And now when they need the help, there is nobody to turn to," he said.
The protesters are calling their protest a "March of the Living" - a name which echoes the annual march at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day - and some are expected to don prisoners' clothes and yellow stars.
One Israeli cabinet minister, Yitzhak Herzog, said the use of such imagery on a march over a financial dispute with the government was "an insult to the collective memory of the Holocaust".
Medical billsMedical bills
Survivors already receive support from a number of sources, including Germany and the Israeli government.Survivors already receive support from a number of sources, including Germany and the Israeli government.
But they have long complained of neglect in Israel, where some 250,000 survivors live.But they have long complained of neglect in Israel, where some 250,000 survivors live.
Many of the elderly survivors say they struggle to pay for medical treatment and, in some cases, food.Many of the elderly survivors say they struggle to pay for medical treatment and, in some cases, food.
Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II.Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II.
The Holocaust is often cited as one of the key reasons as to why a Jewish state must exist.The Holocaust is often cited as one of the key reasons as to why a Jewish state must exist.