RSS
Austria increases Holocaust survivor payments for first time in decades
(JTA) — For the first time in more than 20 years, the Austrian government has agreed to pay every living Austrian Holocaust survivor an additional direct compensation payment of approximately 5,000 euros ($5,290) each in 2023.
The decision, which will affect an estimated 2,500 survivors living worldwide, followed extensive deliberations between the Conference for Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the Austrian Ministry of Finance. The total payout equals 12.5 million euros (about $13.23 million), and survivors who are determined to have special needs will be eligible for a second payment of about the same amount this year, along with additional annual payments.
Most Austrian survivors are living in the United States and Israel, but some also call Great Britain, Australia, Canada, South America and several Western European countries home. The Claims Conference already gives certain subsets of survivors monthly pension payments.
The organization made clear that this decision was made well before the start of the Israel-Hamas war and is not linked timing-wise to the conflict.
Before World War II, Austria was home to about 192,000 Jews, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. By 1939, about 135,000 Jews had fled Austria, which in 1938 was annexed by Nazi Germany. Approximately 65,000 Jews of Austrian origin were murdered in the Holocaust.
Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference, called the decision “a substantial breakthrough with the Austrian government.” The payments will be administered through the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism.
“Austrian Holocaust survivors living globally deserve this recognition,” said Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference, in a press statement. While survivors from Austria have received support over the years through the Claims Conference for home care and other welfare services, the additional payments “will go a long way for some of the more vulnerable in that waning population,” he added.
Claims Conference special negotiator Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat called the additional payment a “gesture of responsibility” that acknowledges the suffering of those robbed of home and family.
In addition to the new payments, the Austrian Holocaust Survivors Emergency Assistance Program has been doubled to 3 million euros for 2024. The funds are distributed via social welfare agencies to eligible Austrian survivors in the form of emergency grants to cover medical needs, eviction prevention and other urgent short-term expenses.
—
The post Austria increases Holocaust survivor payments for first time in decades appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.