Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen announced on Thursday morning that an agreement was reached with Germany's Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, on increasing support for survivors of the Holocaust who require nursing care.

According to the agreement, approximately 14,000 additional Holocaust survivors who require nursing care will receive an additional 1,200 shekels per month to their allowance. The agreement comes after months of long and intense negotiations between the Ministry for Social Equality, the Foreign Ministry, the Claims Conference and the German Ministry of Finance.

Until now, allowances have been paid to a limited number of Holocaust survivors who require nursing care, those who were defined as patients requiring the greatest care. The current agreement extends the payment to thousands of additional survivors.

It was also agreed between the Israeli and German ministers on deepening the professional relationship and advancing a strategic plan to commemorate the Holocaust around the world, against the background of the decline in recent years in relation to knowledge about the Holocaust in Europe and against the background of recently published surveys showing that every third German holds negative views towards Israel.

Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen said of the agreement: "We are working around the clock with the goal of increasing the budgets that are transferred to survivors in Israel. At the same time, we are constantly working to improve the services provided to them with an emphasis on bringing the services to the homes of the survivors. In my view, this truly saves lives."