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Israel faces Holocaust protests Israel faces Holocaust protests
(about 6 hours later)
Representatives of Israel's 250,000 Holocaust survivors are to demand more state support in a protest outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's house. Hundreds of protesters in Israel have marched outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office to demand more state support for Holocaust survivors.
A government offer of a monthly stipend of $20 (£10) was rejected as too little by survivor groups, and they vowed to go ahead with the Jerusalem action. A government offer of a monthly stipend of $20 (£10) was labelled "insulting" by the survivor groups that organised Sunday's demonstration in Jerusalem.
Many elderly survivors say they struggle to pay for medical treatment and, in some cases, food. Joining the rally were a few dozen elderly survivors, who say they can barely afford medical treatment.
Mr Olmert called for a "fair and balanced" solution as his cabinet met. Mr Olmert has said payments for the 250,000 survivors would begin in 2008.
He pointed out that his government was the first to take up the issue of providing for Holocaust survivors' families with special aid.He pointed out that his government was the first to take up the issue of providing for Holocaust survivors' families with special aid.
'Nobody to turn to' Israel reconciled with Germany a long time ago, it is time that it reconciles with us Yosef CharnyiHolocaust survivor
Dubi Arbel, director of one of the survivor organisations, told the BBC that their needs were not being met. The protesters called their rally a "March of the Living" - a name which echoes the annual commemoration at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
One of the protesters, a survivor of the Treblinka death camp, sparked controversy by wearing prisoner clothes.
Yosef Charnyi, 82, joined the march from parliament to Mr Olmert's office dressed in striped pyjamas with a yellow Star of David pinned to the top.
He told the AFP news agency: "We are demanding the right to finish our days decently."
"The state of Israel has reconciled with Germany a long time ago, it is time that it reconciles with us," he added.
'Nightmares'
But there was disquiet at the use of death camp prisoners' clothes in the protest.
Noah Kieger, a Holocaust survivor herself, wrote on the Ynet news website: "Even if the conduct of the authorities is inappropriate, they must not in any way be mentioned in the same breath as those who murdered six million of our people."
Mr Olmert told his weekly cabinet meeting that he would meet representatives of survivor groups on Wednesday to discuss the payments.
Dubi Arbel, director of one of the survivor organisations, told the BBC the survivors' needs were not being met.
"They wake up every night with nightmares," he said."They wake up every night with nightmares," he said.
"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.""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."
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 bills
Holocaust survivors - who include all those who suffered from Nazi persecution - 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 live.
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.
The Holocaust is often cited as one of the key reasons as to why a Jewish state must exist.