A third of Holocaust survivors in Israel living in poverty, study finds

Over a third of Holocaust survivors in Israel are living in poverty and are facing intensified economic and security fears amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, a new study has found. 

Data from the Eran Association and the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims was published on Monday. 

Eran, which is Israel’s largest NGO for emotional and mental health support, revealed it had received over 11,600 calls from Holocaust survivors during the war. 

That was compared to 3,200 calls throughout the whole of 2026 before the conflict broke out.

The war began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched a barrage of attacks on Iran. Tehran responded with strikes on Israel, as well as Gulf Arab states. 

The homes of at least 50 Holocaust survivors in Israel were damaged during the war, Eran said.

According to the survey, the economic realities for elderly survivors had worsened over the past month.

Thirty-six percent of Holocaust survivors said they now rely on aid for purchasing basic food supplies, while 27 percent had been forced to forgo food due to financial hardship or limited mobility. 

Over 70,000 Holocaust survivors (65 percent) live alone and suffer from loneliness, Eran said.

During the war, many described feeling helpless, including one woman who was left alone and bedridden during an air raid siren when her caregiver went to an underground shelter but she was unable to. 

Heartbreaking calls

“A Holocaust survivor called us, who said that she called the municipality where she lives and asked what she should do, because the shelter is a few hundred metres from her house, and the answer was 'You need to run to the shelter',” David Koren, the chief executive of Eran, said. 

“These calls are heartbreaking. It's very difficult.”

As well as loneliness, survivors calling Eran described feelings of anxiety, trauma and grief, as well as difficulties dealing with disability and illness. 

In December, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that 5,000 Holocaust survivors were waiting in line to receive an apartment through public housing. 

The report said that 2,500 Holocaust survivors had died over the past five years while waiting for public housing. 

The majority of those survivors were from the former Soviet Union, and do not have a pension. 

“The data is very, very difficult, and what are we waiting for? The average age is 87,” Yasmin Sachs Friedman, the chair of a special parliamentary committee for Holocaust survivors, said at the time. 

“I understand that the state has failed and will not be able to create immediate housing solutions for Holocaust survivors.”