An estimated 133,000 Holocaust survivors are living in Israel today. Another 245,000 Jewish survivors live in over 90 countries worldwide.

Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a survey reveals that 25% of Israel’s Holocaust survivors live in poverty and loneliness.

• 50% of Holocaust survivors in Israel would like to leave home more often but cannot do so without assistance
• 50% struggle to cover their monthly household expenses
• 45% feel lonely to some degree or another
• 40% need significant assistance to buy groceries
• 40% need help getting eye exams and fittings for eyeglasses at home
• 35% live by themselves
• 35% need help with dental treatments
• 30% had to give up on buying cleaning and personal hygiene products
• 25% had to give up on medical tests or treatments altogether
• 25% had to give up electrical goods
• 20% had to give up on medical aid and means of accessibility
• 20% are confined to their homes and do not go out at all
• 15% needed financial assistance to buy a burial plot or a tombstone
• 12% are unable to access all the rooms in their homes

Since Oct. 7, 2023:

• According to 61% of the respondents, the quality of life for Holocaust survivors has declined even more
• 50% attributed the deterioration to the psychological effect of the Hamas attacks on Israel. These attacks included the brutal murder of more than 1,200 people. They also involved the taking of more than 250 hostages and over 10,000 rockets fired into Israel.
• Due to mobility issues, 20% either have no safe shelter in their homes or cannot easily access a protected space.