After protests, the Dutch government is reviewing its policy regarding the pensions it gives to citizens living in Judea and Samaria.
The Netherlands has reportedly reversed a decision to cut by 35 percent the pension of a Holocaust survivor for living in an Israeli community in Judea and Samaria.
A 90-year-old survivor was shocked to see that her pension was cut because she lives in a section of the city of Modi’in that the Dutch government incorrectly perceives as illegal under international law. The woman, identified as D., moved to Israel a few months ago, fleeing the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe.
A spokesman for the Dutch government told the Jerusalem Post that the authorities were in touch with the family and that this “very unfortunate” incident “should have been prevented.” The official was quoted as saying that since the woman could not have known the consequences of moving to the “occupied territories,” her pension would not be reduced after all.
Asked by the newspaper whether this meant that other Dutch Holocaust survivors living in the socalled settlements would have their pensions cut, the spokesman responded: “The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs will soon publish a modified policy. After publication, this new policy will be applied to new cases. The Dutch authorities cannot yet prejudge the exact provisions of this new policy.”
Colette Avital, head of the Center of Organizations for Holocaust Survivors, which represents 52 groups in Israel that seek to promote the welfare of those who survived the Shoah, said on Israeli radio on Monday that the new policy was misplaced. “European governments can certainly take a position as it relates to Israel’s policies in the territories, but the conclusions in this regard need to be taken up with those who make the decisions in Israel,” she declared, calling it “surprising and outrageous that the Dutch government, of all countries, chooses to impose sanctions against civilians who endured the Holocaust on its territory and who subsequently chose to move in with their children at an old age.”
“It is hard to accept such harassment of survivors, whose welfare needs to be sacrosanct in the eyes of the Dutch authorities,”Avital stated, according to the Post.
By: United with Israel Staff
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