חומר רקע
International Holocaust
Remembrance Day – 2026
January 2026
THE KNESSET
This information sheet was prepared at the request of the Special Committee on the Treatment of Holocaust
Survivors, in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed annually on January 27th (the
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945). According to the Israeli Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority,
there are currently 111,681 Holocaust survivors and victims of antisemitic persecution residing in Israel who
receive allowances or stipends from the Authority (as of mid-January 2026);1 their number has decreased by 10%
over the past year (about 12,000 people fewer than in January 2025), and by about 20% over the past two years.
Facts and Figures on Holocaust Survivors and Victims of Antisemitic Persecution Residing in Israel
as of January 2026
73% have been deemed eligible for nursing care at various levels of dependency.
lace of Birth
P
Place of Residence (leading cities)
Year of Aliya (immigration to Israel)
Payments and Benefits Granted by the Authority (2025)
1 The data Includes survivors who receive monthly allowance from abroad (most of them recipients of a monthly allowance
from Germany, see below for information); there are about 400 survivors who are recognized by the Authority as eligible for
an exemption from payment for medications in the healthcare basket, and receive an allowance from other sources.
51%
Widowed
36%
Married
11%
Divorced or
separated
2% Single
Average age: 88
Oldest: 105
Youngest: 80
62%
Women
38%
Men
15%
4%
5%
11%
11%
17%
37%
Other
Tunisia
Poland
Romania
Iraq
Morocco
Former USSR
4,541
4,605
4,618
5,613
5,668
5,916
7,148
7,445
Rishon LeTsiyon
Petah Tikva
Be'er Sheva
Netanya
Ashdod
Tel Aviv – Yafo
Jerusalem
Haifa
4%
25%
36%
26%
9%
Before 1948
1951
–
1948
1989
–
1952
1999
–
1990
2025
–
2000
About NIS 4 billion
in direct payments,
and NIS 1.2 billion
in benefits
* Average age is on the rise: 87 as of January 2025;
86 as of January 2024
*35% immigrated since 1990
International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026
Knesset – Research and Information Center
www.knesset.gov.il/mmm
Recipients of monthly allowance
Recipients of monthly allowance from Germany
Recipients of annual stipend
Monthly allowances (which are paid by the
Authority) vary by degree of disability and
range from NIS 2,861 (25%) to NIS 7,184 (100%)
Increased allowance for low-income
recipients:
NIS 7,064 (25%)–NIS 13,141 (100%)
889
,5
3
Holocaust
Survivors
(32% of all
recipients)
*89 of them are disabled persons of the war against the Nazis
This eligibility was determined by any of the following:
- Nazi Persecution Disability Law, 1957;
- Section 3 of the Benefits for Holocaust Survivors Law, 2007;
- Disabled Persons of the War Against the Nazis Law, 1954.
The amount is determined by the Federal
German Indemnification Act (BEG). In addition,
the Authority pays a monthly supplement of
€200–€500 (from German funds), depending on
the amount of the monthly allowance; the
Authority pays a quarterly stipend of NIS 2,907;
an annual stipend of €3,500 is paid to people
with Dementia.
1,617 survivors
receive a monthly allowance from Germany
(1.5% of all recipients)
Monthly allowance from the German government pursuant to the Federal German Indemnification Act
(BEG);
Quarterly stipend from the Authority pursuant to Section 3B of the Benefits for Holocaust Survivors
Law (since 2018); Israeli government decisions in 2019, 2021 and 2024 following understandings
reached with the German government.
Annual stipend (paid by the Authority):
NIS 7,688
74,050 Holocaust survivors and victims
of antisemitic persecution
39,834 survivors whose entitlement is determined by Section 4 of the Benefits for Holocaust Survivors
Law (36% of all recipients), most of them expatriates from the former Soviet Union who immigrated
to Israel in the 1990s.
34,216 victims of antisemitic persecution during World War II who are eligible by virtue of an
administrative decision that the Minister of Finance issued at the end of 2015 (expatriates from Algeria,
Morocco and Iraq; 30.5% of all recipients).
*About 45% of all the annual stipend recipients also receive monthly income support payments from
the National Insurance Institute of Israel; most of these are expatriates from the former Soviet Union.
Standard allowance:
334
,4
2
survivors
Increased allowance:
11,555 survivors
International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026
Additionally, the Authority pays a monthly allowance to 16,355 widowed spouses of survivors who had been
recipients of a monthly allowance from the Authority (more than half of them are recognized as survivors
themselves). Holocaust survivors and victims of antisemitic persecution may be eligible for various benefits
in addition to the aforementioned allowances and payments, such as an exemption from copayments for
prescription medications covered by the national healthcare system, additional nursing care hours, visits
by volunteers, supplementary need-based grants, and various discounts. However, not all benefits are
available to all groups.
Sources:
Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority – data submitted to the Knesset Research and Information Center on January 21st, 22nd
and 25th 2026; letter, January 24th 2024; data from the website (Hebrew), January 2026; Budget proposal 2026, The Ministry of
Welfare and Social Affairs, January 2026 (Hebrew); Report to the Government of Israel on the governmental support of Holocaust
Survivors, May 20th 2025 (Hebrew).
Written by Gideon Zeira | Designed by Ilanit Bar | Approved by Ido Avgar