GENERALI
ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI S.p.A.
An Open Letter to the Families of Holocaust Victims
Vietnam, Israel
Sign Pact
Jerusalem (JPFS) — Israel and
Vietnam signed an agricultural
agreement during Israel Agri-
culture Minister Rafael Eitan's
visit to Ho Chi Minh City.
As part of the deal, Israel will
donate $50 million for the creation
of a joint research team on fruit
tree development and a similar
amount for the establishment of
a 2.5-acre model vegetable pro-
duction plant, including a nurs-
ery, tomato-growing unit, and a
sorting and packing area.
The ministry said it hopes
Vietnam will become a transit
country for Israeli agricultural ex-
ports to Asia.
Israel May
Charge Autos
Jerusalem (JPFS) — The gov-
ernment is considering charging
a toll on all private vehicles en-
tering the three major cities,
based on a report presented to
the cabinet by Treasury officials.
As part of the plans for struc-
tural changes in the economy, se-
nior Treasury officials asked
ministers to approve a series of
measures to reduce traffic con-
gestion in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
and Haifa.
To discuss the toll proposal in
more detail, Finance Minister
Yaakov Neeman asked the cabi-
net to agree to the immediate es-
tablishment of an interministerial
committee, which will report back
before June 1, 1998.
In addition to approving the es-
tablishment of the committee, the
Treasury also brought to the cab-
inet a series of other proposals for
transportation improvements in
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa:
* The creation of a program of
public-transport-only routes in
the city centers to be prepared by
Dec. 30 and up and running by
Dec. 31, 2000.
The plans will not only include
the routes, but also the order of
preference for their construction.
In Tel Aviv, the project will be
coordinated with the anticipated
routes of the metropolitan light
railway. A similar constraint ap-
plies to the preparation of the
routes in Jerusalem and Haifa. A
supervisory body, which will pre-
vent private vehicle access to the
new routes, will be operational
prior to Jan. 1, 1998, under the
joint auspices of the Transport
and Internal Security ministries.
* Inner-city public transport
routes will be completely redraft-
ed no later than June 30. These
will be specifically designed to tie
in with rail services, particularly
in the Gush Dan area.
* A complete overhaul of pub-
lic transport information will be
implemented by March 1.
I
n 1831, a group of Jewish merchants in what is now Italy founded a new insurance company called Assicurazioni Generali.
During, the first months of 1832, it opened offices in the major cities of the Hapsburg Empire in Central and Eastern Europe.
Following the split-up of that Empire at the end of World War I, Generali continued its prominent role in the insurance industry in the newly
independent countries which emerged.
During and after the dark years of World War II, Generali faced expropriations of its properties and the properties of its insureds. The racial laws of
the Nazi and fascist era and the state action of Soviet-dominated regimes in Central and Eastern Europe severely damaged Generali's ability to do
business there. The cold-war Communist regimes in Eastern Europe nationalized and expropriated all major businesses, seizing all of Generali's
insurance businesses there, including its offices, 184 buildings and 14 companies controlled by Generali. As a result, Generali today has very little
information and few records regarding policies issued by its former branches in Central and Eastern Europe.
Throughout the years, the company has had a long affiliation with the Jewish people. This relationship has been reflected in its history, from its
founding of the Migdal insurance company in 1930's Jewish Palestine, to its recent $320 million investment in Israel to assume the majority position
in Migdal, today the leading insurer in the Jewish State. In reaffirming its historic commitment, Generali has also announced its decision to establish
a fund of $12 million, to be administered by an independent committee in Israel, in honor of Generali policyholders who perished in the Holocaust.
Fund monies will be given to organizations and public bodies dedicated to the eternalization of the memory of the Holocaust; to the assistance of
Holocaust victims and their families through the provision of medical, psychological and other assistance; and may be applied by the independent
committee for discretionary payments to those who held Generali policies issued before World War II in Central and Eastern Europe or their loved
ones who survived them.
In addition, a Policy Information Center is being established to provide families of Holocaust victims with information in Generali's possession about
Generali policies which may have been issued to their loved ones during the pre-war era. Generali is in the process of computerizing whatever
information it does have regarding policies held during the war. Specialists at the Policy Information Center will work with individuals to process
their requests for information. A search of Generali's archives in Trieste will be conducted and available policy data will be forwarded to the
requesting families.
Data- from the archives will also be provided to Yad Vashern in Jerusalem to support its ongoing efforts to compile the names of all Holocaust victims.
In response to Generali's decision to take these steps, Knesset Members Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, Chairman of the Finance Committee; Michael
Kleiner, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Insurance; and Avraham Hirschson, Subcommittee Chairman of the Committee for Restitution of Jewish
Property, wrote to the company:
"We wish to confirm as most praiseworthy the establishment by you of a fund in Israel in memory of the people insured by Generali who perished in
the Holocaust. We realize this to be a fulfillment of Generali's public obligation in memory of the Holocaust victims... We wish to welcome
Generali's presence in Israel as a most welcome contribution to Israel's economy . .."
If you would like to request an archival search on behalf of a relative who was insured by Generali in Central or Eastern Europe prior to or during
World War II, call or write to the Policy Information Center at:
1-800-456-8174
Policy Information Center • 45 Rockefeller Plaza • Suite 2000 • New York, New York 10111-0100
In a visit to Israel this month, in meetings with President Weizman and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Generali Managing Director Gianfranco Gutty
spoke of Generali feeling "committed to the memory of those of its insured in Central and East Europe who perished in the Holocaust." The
Information Center and the decision to set up the $12 million fund are an expression of that feeling.
Respectfully,
ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI
This material is distributed by Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates, Inc., 1850 NI Street, NW, Suite 550, Washington, D.C. 20036,
on behalf of Assicura:ioni Generali, S.p.A., PiaLia Duca degli Abru::i, n. 2, 34132, Trieste, Ital.
Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
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