The Lichyot Be’chavod (Living in Dignity) association, which provides meals to the elderly and Holocaust survivors, has demanded a comprehensive program to help them readjust to a new full routine, in a letter to Social Equality Minister Itzik Shmuli on Sunday.
"In the past year, we have seen far-reaching changes in the needs of the elderly population in Israel in general and Holocaust survivors in particular, who required that we, as an association, also provide additional needs such as mental, social and physical assistance," wrote Lichyot Be’chavod Director-General Erez Klarnstein.
Klarnstein called for a program to allow hundreds of thousands of seniors to return to "a dignified routine of life."
"Without the issuance of an orderly and comprehensive plan built by senior experts and allowing Holocaust survivors to return gradually to a routine of life, they will continue to live in isolation and distance, as we have been accustomed to do in the past year to deal with the outbreak," said Klarnstein. "We must not leave our elderly loved ones in social distancing, as those who have been hidden in their homes for many months deserve to return to smile and social life."