900 of Israel’s Holocaust survivors have died from Covid, new data reveals

Around 900 of Israel’s Holocaust survivors have died from Covid-19, according to figures released by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics to coincide with International Holocaust Memorial Day.

It shows that almost half of all Israelis aged 75 and over who have tested positive for coronavirus also survived the Holocaust, amounting to 5,300. Of these, around 17 percent died. Men were shown to be 30 percent more likely to die than women.

The most recent data showed around 179,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel. More than a third were born during the war, and almost two thirds were born in Europe.

Alongside the 900 who died from Covid-19 in 2020, another 16,000 died of unrelated causes, according to the CBS.

Haifa is home to the most Holocaust survivors, with 12,400 at the last count. Jerusalem is second with 11,100. Around 40 percent of Israel’s Holocaust survivors emigrated to Israel before 1951.